Kongsberg to supply Hugin AUVS plus HiPAP Equipment to Poland.

According to a PR published by Kongsberg Maritime on October 10, 2022, the firm is pleased to announce a contract award with Polish shipbuilder Remontowa Shipbuilding SA (RSB) to supply three shipsets of Kongsberg HUGIN AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) systems and related HiPAP positioning and communication systems for three newbuild warships for the Polish Navy.
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Artist rendering of the future Kormoran II-class minehunter (Picture source: Polish government)

The total contract value is in excess of €10M, with the KONGSBERG equipment destined for the next three vessels (#4, #5 and #6) in the Kormoran II Mine-Countermeasures (MCM) vessel program. These three ships will be commissioned from 2026 to 2027.

The three HUGIN/HiPAP shipsets will be delivered to the yard over the next four years to match with the new vessel delivery schedule. This new contract follows on from previous contracts for the successful integration of HUGIN and HiPAP systems on the first three vessels in the Kormoran II program by Kongsberg Maritime and RSB.

KONGSBERG HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicles are marine robots offering the ultimate in autonomous remote subsea search and survey capability.

These free-swimming autonomous underwater vehicles are characterised by great manoeuvrability and excellent stability for high-quality data collection. Hydrodynamic shape, accurate instruments and excellent battery capacity make these AUVs a popular choice for governments and militaries worldwide.

One of the many benefits of the HUGIN systems is their modular platform and wide range of options. The HUGINs aboard the Kormoran II vessels will benefit from:

. KONGSBERG HISAS 1032 Synthetic Aperture Sonar for long range, high-resolution imagery and bathymetry
. KONGSBERG EM2040 Multibeam Echosounder, an industry standard bathymetric mapping sonar
. UHD Colour Camera with LED Lighting Panel for high-resolution optical imagery
. Forward-looking Sonar and altimeters for obstacle avoidance and trajectory planning
. Low magnetic-signature stinger launch & recovery system (LARS)
. KONGSBERG Sunstone advanced Inertial Navigation System (INS) for industry leading autonomous position accuracy

Capable of fully autonomous operations without surface vessel support, HUGIN is also designed to work in conjunction with the HiPAP (High Precision Acoustic Positioning) family of underwater positioning and navigation systems.

This allows for high-accuracy position updates for the vehicle, as well as real-time communications for status, sensor quality assurance and on-the-fly mission replanning.

Kormoran II (Cormorant Class) - officially project 258, mine hunting type of vessels in building for the Polish Navy. The 2011 Defense Budget included a single vessel of this class. It was launched on 4 September 2015 and was predicted to enter service late 2016.

Two more ships have been planned. Ships are built by Remontowa Shipbuilding Gdańsk and Naval Shipyard Gdynia consortium. It will be armed with 35 mm KDA anti-aircraft cannon.