Two of the firms bidding to win the contract to build a family of up to 28 standardised vessels for the Royal Norwegian Navy have revealed their proposed designs.
Norwegian firms Kongsberg Maritime and Ulstein have each released details of their design concepts submitted for the prequalification phase of the competition, which is being overseen by the FMA, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency.
Norway’s Parliament, the Storting, has agreed the acquisition of 28 standardized Navy vessels in two variants: 18 smaller coastal ships and ten larger, ocean-going versions. In Norway, the Coast Guard is an integrated part of the RNN.
Intended as a replacement for eight separate classes of ship in the RNN’s existing fleet, the FMA wants the two ship types to share as many systems and parts as possible to achieve maximum economies of scale and training efficiencies.
Kongsberg Maritime (soon to be separately listed as an independent firm away from wider Kongsberg Group) is one of two firms which has released visuals and outline details of its proposals.
Its Executive Vice President Per Håvard Siljan Hjukse said Kongsberg Maritime already supplied “key systems” to the British, Canadian, Australian, and Norwegian Type 26 frigates and to more than 900 military vessels worldwide.
He commented: “We believe this positions us well to develop the next generation of vessels for the Royal Norwegian Navy, and we look forward to offering solutions that combine operational performance, cost efficiency, and technological innovation.”
Last month shipbuilder Ulstein also revealed visuals of the designs it was putting forward for the programme.
Its press statement noted the firm had over a century of shipbuilding experience, including offshore and polar vessels. Since releasing its new design series at the turn of the millennium, the firm said it had delivered more than 50 ships from its own yard and more than 100 via partner yards across the globe.
It added: “Every vessel from Ulstein is the result of engineering excellence combined with a philosophy that emphasises functionality, modularity and standardisation.
“The goal is to create platforms that can be adapted to a wide range of missions, from surveillance and logistics to search, rescue and NATO operations. ”
- You can read more details on the Kongsberg Maritime website, the Ulstein website and the FMA website