Kongsberg Maritime has launched the Arctic Hunter, an uncrewed vessel based on an Arctic fishing ship design that it is adapting for the Royal Navy’s Type 92 anti-submarine programme, with ships to be built at Birkenhead, according to the company.

The vessel is designed for missions of up to 60 days at sea, operating from a support base north of the Arctic Circle to provide continuous sensor coverage alongside existing anti-submarine forces. Kongsberg Maritime says its technology for uncrewed vessels already has approval from the classification society DNV and the Norwegian Maritime Authority.

Arctic Hunter would be built quickly at commercial shipyards before specialist defence partners integrate military systems, including UK-developed sonar and secure military communications from Thales UK, and Kongsberg Maritime says there is space on board for further systems as requirements change. The company suggests the design could also suit other NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force navies.

Kongsberg Maritime plans for vessels to be delivered from Balaena Maritime’s yard in Birkenhead, ready for military fitting and operations by the end of the decade. Lisa Edvardsen Haugan, CEO of Kongsberg Maritime, said in the company’s Norwegian statement that Atlantic security is the highest priority, describing Arctic Hunter as a robust and practical answer to the growing need for submarine detection, and said the company has designed vessels for Arctic conditions for more than 50 years.

Kongsberg Maritime says it will sign technology cooperation agreements with Thales UK and Balaena Maritime at the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo this week.

The Type 92 Sloop first appeared in Ministry of Defence plans in February 2025 as part of the Royal Navy’s push for an uncrewed anti-submarine network in the North Atlantic, with the Navy to own and operate the vessels alongside Type 93 uncrewed underwater vehicles. No numbers or in-service dates have been set.

Kongsberg Maritime says the proposal supports the Lunna House agreement, under which Britain and Norway are to lead NATO’s use of autonomous systems in the High North, and which was announced last December alongside closer work on the Type 26 frigates both navies will operate.