Kongsberg Discovery has achieved a significant milestone by delivering the HUGIN Superior autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) prototype for the U.S. Navy’s large undersea drone initiative. This delivery comes on the heels of successful acceptance trials conducted in Norway earlier this year, which validated the vehicle’s capabilities. Prior to these trials, a team from the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) performed a comprehensive technology assessment of the HUGIN platform last year, setting the stage for its role in enhancing U.S. naval operations.
Kongsberg’s contract for this prototype, awarded in February 2024, spans a duration of 24 months, as part of the Navy’s Large Displacement Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (LDUUV) program. Within the competitive landscape of this project, other notable contenders include Anduril Industries and Oceaneering International, underscoring the strategic importance of unmanned technology in modern naval warfare.
Rich Patterson, vice president of sales for the uncrewed platforms division at Kongsberg Discovery, expressed appreciation for the efforts of the DIU team. He emphasized the importance of their collaboration in facilitating a swift transfer of capabilities to operators, which will enable valuable feedback and further refinement of Kongsberg’s product offerings.
The HUGIN Superior has been operational since 2019, serving both commercial and military sectors. Its versatility allows it to conduct a range of missions, including subsea and seabed warfare, intelligence preparation of the operational environment, mine countermeasures, and inspections of critical underwater infrastructure. The vehicle boasts an impressive endurance of over 70 hours and can cover distances of up to 1,200 nautical miles (approximately 2,200 kilometers or 1,367 miles).
Equipped with a variety of advanced mapping and imaging sensors, including Kongsberg’s HISAS family of synthetic aperture sonars and the EM family of multi-beam sonars, the HUGIN Superior is designed for high-resolution and efficient data collection. Kongsberg has highlighted that the HUGIN Endurance can gather data without requiring mission supervision, thanks to its advanced navigation capabilities provided by the Sunstone system. This level of autonomy not only enhances operational efficiency but also minimizes the carbon footprint associated with underwater survey missions by reducing the need for dedicated support vessels.
The LDUUV program aims to equip the Navy with long-endurance, deep-sea unmanned capabilities that are critical for deploying various sensing payloads and effectors in the Pacific and other contested waters. A robust fleet of LDUUVs will support missions focused on subsea warfare, seabed operations, and other undersea challenges. The DIU has asserted that this initiative will drive advancements in underwater engineering, autonomous systems, and communications, thus shaping the future operational landscape for naval forces.