Thales UK and Kongsberg Maritime have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an autonomous submarine-hunting vessel for the Royal Navy’s Type 92 requirement.
The proposed system would combine Kongsberg’s Arctic Hunter uncrewed surface vessel with Thales’ underwater sensors, tactical planning tools, and secure communications.
The collaboration focuses on anti-submarine operations in the North Atlantic and High North, which the companies identified as priorities for UK-Norwegian defense cooperation and NATO maritime security.
Combining Sensors and Autonomy
The partnership would support the Royal Navy’s Hybrid Navy plans, which calls for crewed warships to operate alongside uncrewed vessels as part of a connected force.
Rather than working independently, the platforms would share sensor data to help naval forces detect, track, and respond to underwater threats.
Kongsberg’s Arctic Hunter would serve as the autonomous surface platform carrying underwater sensors, while Thales would provide sonar expertise, acoustic modeling, tactical planning tools, and secure communications.
AI-assisted analysis from Thales’ cortAIx would help process underwater sensor data, while secure communications links would allow the vessel to exchange information with other naval assets.
Building on Royal Navy Sonar Work
The proposed Type 92 collaboration would build on Thales’ existing work on underwater detection for the Royal Navy.
The company already supplies sonar technology for the service’s Type 23 and Type 26 frigates.
Last year, Thales and BAE Systems also expanded their partnership to develop next-generation sonar capabilities for British submarines.
Building on more than 20 years of cooperation, the agreement focuses on improving the delivery of new sonar technologies to the fleet and accelerating the introduction of upgrades into service.