A partnership between Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Salt Ship Design has been chosen to design the Norwegian Armed Forces’ new standardized vessel class.
The Royal Norwegian Navy and Coast Guard is planning to acquire up to 28 new large and medium-sized standardised vessels: a mixture of 90-metre oceangoing boats and 55-metre vessels optimised for littoral operations.
The new boats will feature integrated and modular weapon and sensor systems and share the ability to interact with allies and with autonomous/uncrewed systems.
The programme also envisions the potential sale of ships of the same design to allies, potentially including the U.K. as part of the strategic agreement in connection with the Norwegian frigate procurement. According to Kongsberg, Norwegian authorities have also entered into an agreement with Lithuania on the delivery of standardised vessels.
As per a Forsvarmateriell (FMA) — Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency — press statement, the ships “will be based to the greatest extent possible on civilian standards and commercially available technology, following the principle of as civilian as possible, as military as necessary.”
The agreed schedule calls for design work to be completed by the end of this year, with a six-month construction tendering process ending in spring 2027, and the building programme to begin as soon as possible after that. Delivery of the first vessel in the programme is earmarked for 2030.
The Kongsberg/Salt consortium beat off competition from ten other submissions and six other shortlisted bidders in a selection process which lasted two months.
President of Kongsberg Defence Eirik Lie commented: “This marks an important step forward for Kongsberg and the Norwegian defence and maritime industry, and we look forward to contributing our expertise and technology to develop the standardised vessels of the future in Norway and internationally.”
He added: “A standardised fleet based on Kongsberg and Salt’s expertise, in support of the Armed Forces and NDMA, will simplify maintenance, reduce costs and ensure more efficient operations for the Navy.”
And Salt’s General Manager Torbjørn Bringedal said: “Through our new office in Bergen, we have strengthened our team and in collaboration with Kongsberg we are establishing ourselves as a solid and trustworthy partner for the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency locally and in the international naval market.”
The FMA’s Director of Defence Materiel Gro Jære noted: “The timeline is tight, and that is precisely why the expertise and capacity of Salt & KDA are crucial.”
Norway’s State Secretary Marte Gerhardsen added: “The vessels will also be sold to our allies, which provides great opportunities for Norwegian industry. This contract brings us an important step forward in the acquisition.”
- You can read more details about the award on the Kongsberg website and the FMA website