Norwegian defence and maritime technology company KONGSBERG has introduced Aegir SSA (Subsea Situational Awareness), a new family of sonars built to give continuous underwater awareness around ports, coastal areas and offshore facilities. The product line was unveiled at ONS 2026 in Stavanger.
Drawing on more than 80 years of sonar work, KONGSBERG says Aegir SSA pairs acoustic technology with a compact design that can be fitted across a range of platforms — from small uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and buoys to fixed installations and larger maritime vessels. As part of the Aegir SSA concept, the company is also offering an AI-powered virtual sonar operator service that can run without constant human oversight; the AI can be configured for specific missions and trained by a customer’s own operators to carry over their operational knowledge.
What Risks Aegir SSA Is Built to Address
Growing reliance on maritime infrastructure for energy security, transport, offshore operations and broader national resilience has pushed operators to look for better visibility below the waterline. Ports and coastal waters bring their own set of problems: heavy traffic, shallow depths, drifting objects and possible unauthorized activity often go undetected by conventional monitoring tools.
According to KONGSBERG, the Aegir family is meant to give operators usable underwater awareness by detecting, classifying and tracking objects and activity beneath the surface, supporting safer navigation and better-informed decisions.
Helge Andre Sundt, VP Subsea Awareness at KONGSBERG, said: “The underwater domain has become an important operating environment for both commercial and government operators. With Aegir SSA, we’re bringing KONGSBERG’s sonar expertise into a purpose-built product family designed to strengthen security, safety and operational awareness in demanding maritime settings.”
A Live Feed from the Oslofjord
At ONS, visitors can view a live data feed from an operational Aegir SSA installation in the Oslofjord. The sonar is mounted on Fugro’s SEAWATCH® buoy platform, linked to the Oslofjord Testbed, combining persistent offshore monitoring with real-time data delivery and subsea sensing aimed at protecting critical maritime infrastructure.
Ahead of the commercial launch, KONGSBERG worked with Fugro to deploy Aegir SSA on a SEAWATCH® buoy tied into the Oslofjord Testbed. Hompe Heijmerink, Fugro’s Director of Maritime Security and Surveillance for Europe and Africa, said: “As the need to protect critical undersea infrastructure keeps growing, operators need reliable, scalable monitoring solutions that provide continuous situational awareness. Combining KONGSBERG’s new Aegir SSA sonar with Fugro’s SEAWATCH® buoy platform creates an always-on monitoring setup that helps safeguard maritime assets while giving operators real-time intelligence for faster decisions.”
Two Contracts Announced This Year
Earlier in the year, KONGSBERG announced two contracts tied to rising demand for monitoring and protecting maritime infrastructure. One covers surveillance of Princess Elisabeth Island in the North Sea, where KONGSBERG will supply drone-detection radar and vessel traffic services. The other, with an undisclosed international customer, centers on underwater surveillance and protection.
As part of KONGSBERG’s broader portfolio, Aegir SSA adds a dedicated subsea layer for ongoing detection, classification and tracking around ports, offshore assets and other maritime sites.
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Source: C4Defence–KONGSBERG
