MILAN – The Italian Ministry of Defense announced that it has signed a contract with Norwegian naval vessel manufacturer Kongsberg Maritime for the supply of unmanned submersibles capable of exploring shallow waters.
The estimated value of the order is $11 million (10.2 million euros), according to a notice published this week on the website of Tenders Electronic Daily, an online repository of European public procurement.
Little information has been provided about the requirements for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) other than that they must be lightweight and suitable for shallow water activities.
The definition of a shallow-water AUV depends on the depth it can reach, but systems in this class are typically designed to be used at depths of approximately 50 meters (164 feet). This is in contrast to deep-sea AUVs, which are typically built to perform missions at depths exceeding 2,500 meters.
Kongsberg Maritime’s AUVs are equipped with the Hugin system, and the Italian Navy is already a customer. Italy’s Rear Admiral Giangido Manganaro, commander of the Mine Countermeasures Force, said in a summer interview that the Hugin 1000 has been in operation since 2013, and that a second aircraft capable of traveling 3,000 meters is scheduled to be delivered by the navy. . End of 2023.
A report published last year by Italian think tank Istituto Affari Internazionali further states that the Italian Navy is already using Hugin 1000 and 3000 vessels with maximum depths of 1,000 meters and 3,000 meters.
Based on this information, the latest contract for a lightweight AUV could be the third HUGIN procured by the country’s navy.
One of the most recently developed variants is the Hugin Edge, described on the manufacturer’s website as the smallest and lightest member of the Hugin family with an autonomous launch and recovery system.
As part of the Italian Navy’s Future Combat Naval Systems 2035 vision, unmanned systems have been identified as a procurement priority.
An Italian company that is redoubling its efforts to evolve naval systems is Fincantieri NextTech, a subsidiary of the Italian group. In 2019, the company launched an advanced surface naval drone named SAND, a multi-purpose unmanned surface vehicle.
“Over the past year, launch and recovery systems capable of launching and recovering underwater unmanned vehicles for mine warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and critical undersea infrastructure protection have been integrated into SAND,” the company said in an email to Defense News. said in a statement.
There is no firm deadline for when the platform will be operational. However, market demand for such systems is expected to increase as the military further defines its requirements, so a roadmap for improvements has been identified for 2024-2025.
“We have seen USVs take center stage in new and unexpected wars like the one in Ukraine in 2023. Major navies and industries began developing this type of technology years ago, but The market is relatively young,” the statement said. “In 2024 and the years beyond, there will be a growing demand for improved interoperability and associated autonomous capabilities.”
Elizabeth Gosselin Maro is Defense News’ Europe correspondent. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in aviation reporting. She is based in Milan, Italy.