• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

HUGIN Endurance

Kongsberg Discovery was awarded a contract 09 February 2024 with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to rapidly deliver HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) capabilities for the U.S. Military. The total contract could result in the Navy acquiring HUGIN Endurance and HUGIN Superior deep-water AUV systems. Kongsberg Discovery offers unmatched and proven Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) experience spanning over 30 years. Since the start, Kongsberg continues to develop and deliver the most successful and trusted large deep-water AUV systems for both commercial and government customers, with approximately 100 large HUGIN AUV systems delivered globally.

HUGIN Endurance, one of the newest members in the HUGIN AUV family, is the biggest and most capable with its 39’ length, 47” diameter and 15-day endurance, enabling unsupervised shore-to-shore operations over a 1,200 nm range. HUGIN Superior, the workhorse of KONGSBERG’s HUGIN AUV family and the deep-water industry standard, is a 22’ long, 35” diameter, and 70-hour endurance vehicle.

Both vehicles are tightly integrated with a suite of KONGSBERG’s proven sensors providing IPoE (Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment), MCM (Mine Counter Measure), SBW (Seabed Warfare), and seafloor mapping capabilities at delivery. HUGIN Endurance expands these capabilities by providing capacity for further payload integration and range. KONGSBERG’s longstanding expertise in inertial navigation, autonomy in both UUVs and USVs, battery development, and the ability to fuse sensor and payload data seamlessly, enhances productivity and cost effectiveness for the operator.

HUGIN Endurance collects consistent, high-resolution data without the need for in-mission supervision using KONGSBERG’s advanced underwater navigation system Sunstone. This advanced level of autonomy and accuracy reduces the carbon footprint of survey operations by eliminating the need for a dedicated support vessel. Consequently, it mitigates health and safety concerns by relocating personnel onshore and allows the largest potential weather window for any operation.

With continuous evolution from 1991, and commercial surveys starting in 1997, HUGIN has seen consistent advancements. KONGSBERG and our partners at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI) have significantly contributed to underwater robotic technology. The new HUGIN Endurance capitalizes on 30 years of expertise to offer the most capable commercial solution within the large-diameter AUV segment.

HUGIN Endurance is a truly autonomous system designed to operate for extended periods without human intervention. With state-of-the-art technology such as the latest generation pressure-tolerant Li-Ion batteries, sensor redundancy, in-mission processing, and Sunstone inertial navigation system with HISAS micronavigation, HUGIN Endurance exceeds commercial offerings for high-quality data collection. Equipped to handle unpredictable events, switch to redundant operation modes, and communicate securely with remote operating centers, HUGIN Endurance represents a leap in shore-to-shore operations for commercial surveying.

HUGIN Endurance can be configured with a range of sensors focused on mission capabilities and situational awareness. This includes the proven hydro-acoustic instruments for mapping and inspection purposes, such as the KONGSBERG HISAS family of synthetic aperture sonars and the EM® family of multibeams. Both underwater and surface awareness sensors are used for autonomous decision making.

HUGIN Endurance is the largest member of the HUGIN family (Ø1.2 m, 10 m long), yet remains transportable with a standard shipping container. Utilising the latest advances in lithium-ion batteries, mission time has been extended to days and weeks. Combined with KONGSBERG’s advanced underwater navigation system Sunstone, HUGIN Endurance collects consistent, high-resolution data without the need for in-mission supervision. This level of autonomy and accuracy reduces the carbon footprint of survey operations by removing the need for a dedicated support vessel. This further mitigates health and safety concerns by relocating personnel onshore and allows the largest potential weather window for any operation.

HUGIN Endurance is a truly autonomous system, designed to operate for days and weeks without human intervention. Equipped with the latest generation pressure-tolerant Li-Ion battery, sensor redundancy, in-mission processing and Sunstone inertial navigation system with HISAS micronavigation, HUGIN Endurance can collect more consistent, high-quality data than any other commercially available AUV. The autonomy system controls mission execution, handles unexpected events and failure modes and switches between redundant modes of operation. On the surface, the vehicle uses its Maritime Broadband Radio (MBR), satellite communication system and surface awareness sensors to safely communicate with the remote operating center to report status and receive mission updates.

HUGIN Endurance can be fitted a variety of sensors for different applications. Like the HUGIN Superior vehicle, HUGIN Endurance is also available with the HISAS1032 dual receiver synthetic aperture sonar and a dual receiver EM2040 multi-beam echo sounder. This provides unparalleled seabed mapping efficiency with up to 1000m of continuous bathymetric swath. Combined bathymetry swath from EM2040 and HISAS 1032 dual Rx maintains 20cm resolution across a 750m wide swath. Vehicle running at 3.5 knots and 40 m altitude. HUGIN Endurance can also be fitted with traditional sidescan sonars, sub-bottom profilers, scientific multi-beams and a variety of other active and passive payloads sensors to meet mission requirements.

HUGIN Endurance collects vast amounts of data and operate unsupervised for long periods of time. The collected data is stored on redundant media with the possibility to encrypt the data at rest. Secure communication with the remote operating center is handled through the Kognifai infrastructure. This enables remote-control, mission updates and transfer of information from the AUV to the cloud in a secure and reliable fashion. Customers can further integrate with other platforms to support their own data-driven value creation.

HUGIN Endurance enables low carbon shore-to-shore operations for commercial survey. The entire HUGIN family of AUVs provides the opportunity to gather more data, at high resolution and with consistent accuracy and HUGIN Endurance adds to that with the introduction of long range fully autonomous operations. HUGIN Endurance can also be fitted with traditional sidescan sonars, sub-bottom profilers, scientific multi-beams and a variety of other active and passive payloads sensors to meet mission requirements. HUGIN Endurance collects vast amounts of data and operate unsupervised for long periods of time. The collected data is stored on redundant media with the possibility to encrypt the data at rest. Secure communication with the remote operating center is handled through the Kognifai infrastructure. This enables remote-control, mission updates and transfer of information from the AUV to the cloud in a secure and reliable fashion. Customers can further integrate with other platforms to support their own data-driven value creation.

HUGIN Endurance enables low carbon shore-to-shore operations for commercial survey. The entire HUGIN family of AUVs provides the opportunity to gather more data, at high resolution and with consistent accuracy and HUGIN Endurance adds to that with the introduction of long range fully autonomous operations. In-mission data can be transferred via a satellite link or over the KONGSBERG Maritime Broadband Radio (MBR) and then uploaded to the cloud for global distribution and access.

Martin Wien Fjell, President of Kongsberg Discovery, shared “With HUGIN Endurance we are pushing the boundaries for autonomous over-the-horizon AUV operations. We are excited to bring our many years of AUV experience in support of the U.S. Government and look forward to closely partnering with DIU and the U.S. Navy to support making their LDUUV program a reality. HUGIN’s reliability has created a legacy and our continued evolution has enabled us to provide the expertise needed on such a program.”

KONGSBERG has been supporting the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in various forms since 1892 when the Krag–Jørgensen rifle was first selected for standard U.S. Army issue. Since then, KONGSBERG has continued to support the U.S. DoD with products such as: NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System), Remote Weapons System (RWS), Naval Strike Missile (NSM), and oceanographic mapping sonars.

Headquartered in Lynnwood, Washington, KONGSBERG Discovery’s U.S. team specializes in the delivery and integration of underwater acoustic systems, UUVs, and uncrewed surface systems, along with value-added engineering. Caitlin Hardy, President of KONGSBERG Discovery's U.S. entity shared “Our team in the U.S. is proud to have a long-standing relationship with U.S. Government customers to enable acquisition of the best quality oceanographic data for the rapid creation of mission-critical information utilizing KONGSBERG Discovery’s acoustic products, considered gold standards for efficient seabed mapping and characterization. We are honoured to help DIU’s efforts in leveraging best-in-class commercially available equipment with our team of UUV experts supporting here in the United States.” For more than 200 years, KONGSBERG has combined industrial experience with technology and creativity.