KONGSBERG Launches Aegir SSA for Subsea Situational Awareness

[By KONGSBERG]

KONGSBERG today announced the launch of Aegir SSA (Subsea Situational Awareness), a new family of sonars designed to improve maritime security, safety, and navigation through continuous underwater awareness.

Unveiled at ONS 2026 in Stavanger, the Aegir range represents a new generation of commercial sonar solutions developed to meet the growing need for situational awareness around ports, critical infrastructure, coastal areas and offshore assets.

Based on more than 80 years of sonar experience, Aegir combines high-performance acoustic technology with compact form factors, simplified integration, and scalable deployment options ranging from small uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and buoys to fixed installations and larger maritime platforms.

As part of the Aegir SSA concept, KONGSBERG offers an AI-powered virtual sonar operator service that enables operation without continuous human involvement. The AI can be configured for specific missions and trained by customers’ own operators to retain and apply their operational knowledge.

Addressing a growing need for underwater awareness

As maritime infrastructure becomes increasingly important to energy security, transportation, offshore operations, and national resilience, operators require better visibility below the waterline.

Ports, harbours and coastal environments present unique challenges. High traffic density, shallow waters, drifting objects and potential unauthorized activity create risks that often remain hidden from conventional monitoring systems.

The Aegir family is designed to provide operators with actionable underwater awareness, enabling detection, classification and tracking of objects and activities beneath the surface while supporting safer navigation and more informed decision-making.

“The underwater domain has become a critical operational environment for both commercial and government operators. With Aegir SSA, we are bringing KONGSBERG sonar expertise into a purpose-built product family designed to enhance security, safety and operational awareness in demanding maritime environments,” said Helge Andre Sundt, VP Subsea Awareness, KONGSBERG.

Proven technology demonstrated in a live operational environment

As part of the launch, visitors to ONS will be able to view a live data feed from an operational Aegir SSA sonar installation located in the Oslofjord. The system is integrated on Fugro's SEAWATCH® buoy platform connected to the Oslofjord Testbed, combining persistent offshore monitoring, real-time data delivery and advanced subsea sensing to enhance protection of critical maritime infrastructure.

Collaboration supporting innovation

Ahead of the commercial launch, KONGSBERG collaborated with Fugro to deploy Aegir SSA on a SEAWATCH® buoy connected to the Oslofjord Testbed, demonstrating how fixed monitoring infrastructure can support continuous protection of critical maritime assets.

“As the need to protect critical undersea infrastructure continues to grow, operators need reliable and scalable monitoring solutions that provide continuous situational awareness. Combining KONGSBERG's new Aegir SSA sonar with Fugro's proven SEAWATCH® buoy platform creates an always-on monitoring solution that helps safeguard critical maritime assets while providing operators with actionable real-time intelligence for faster decision-making,” said Hompe Heijmerink, Fugro’s Director of Maritime Security and Surveillance for Europe and Africa.

Announced major contracts

Earlier this year, KONGSBERG announced two major contracts reflecting growing demand for integrated monitoring and protection of critical maritime infrastructure.

One contract covers surveillance of Princess Elisabeth Island in the North Sea, where KONGSBERG will deliver technologies including drone detection radar and vessel traffic services. The other, for an unnamed international customer, focuses on underwater surveillance and protection.

As part of KONGSBERG’s wider portfolio, Aegir adds a dedicated subsea layer for persistent detection, classification and tracking around ports, offshore assets and other critical maritime sites.