Kongsberg & Oceaneering Selected to Develop Extra-Large UUV for U.S. Navy

The U.S. Department of War’s Defense Innovation Unit has selected KONGSBERG and Oceaneering International, Inc. to support the Combat Autonomous Maritime Platform program for the development of an Extra-Large Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle for future U.S. Navy missions.

Designed to accelerate the transition of mature commercial and defense technologies into operational naval capabilities, the collaboration will focus on concept definition, system architecture, and design trade studies. The effort emphasizes modularity, interoperability, and rapid integration, with the design expected to be delivered in the third quarter of this year.

Rich Patterson, Vice President of Uncrewed Platforms, stated, “KONGSBERG is proud to co-lead this effort with OCEANEERING, combining deep domain expertise to support the U.S. Navy’s vision for scalable and adaptable uncrewed undersea platforms. Together, we are competing to deliver the world’s leading extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle, and I believe our partnership with OCEANEERING is a key strength in achieving that goal.”

Bill Merz, Senior Vice President of Aerospace and Defense Technologies for OCEANEERING, commented, “We are pleased to partner with KONGSBERG on this important initiative. Our experience delivering and sustaining subsea systems globally, combined with KONGSBERG’s advanced undersea technologies, has resulted in a highly capable, world-class team ready to work.”

The strategic alliance combines complementary strengths to promote scale and adaptability while reducing technical and operational risk. KONGSBERG brings a 200-year legacy of engineering excellence delivering advanced maritime and undersea systems worldwide, while OCEANEERING contributes six decades of established leadership in subsea robotic services, remote and autonomous missions, and global lifecycle support. Both organizations possess an extensive history of supporting commercial offshore and government programs.