Next-Gen Sonar Family Combines Acoustic Sensing & AI

KONGSBERG has launched Aegir SSA, a commercial sonar family engineered to deliver continuous subsea situational awareness across ports, coastal areas, and offshore assets.

Unveiled at the ONS 2026 exhibition in Stavanger, the range addresses an expanding necessity for underwater visibility as maritime infrastructure plays a larger role in energy security, transportation, offshore operations, and national resilience. Busy ports, harbors, and shallow coastal areas present distinct risks—such as high traffic volume, floating debris, and unauthorized activity—that conventional monitoring systems often miss. The Aegir system provides operators with subsea intelligence by detecting, classifying, and tracking underwater objects to support navigation and threat assessment.

Drawing on more than 80 years of acoustic development, the product family pairs sonar technology with compact form factors and adaptable deployment options. Units can be integrated onto small uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), buoys, fixed subsea installations, and larger maritime platforms. A core feature of the Aegir SSA concept is an AI-powered virtual sonar operator service that enables autonomous underwater monitoring without requiring continuous human oversight. Customers’ own personnel can train and configure the AI to apply specific mission parameters and operational knowledge.

“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.

Ahead of the commercial launch, KONGSBERG collaborated with Fugro to deploy Aegir SSA on a SEAWATCH® buoy platform connected to the Oslofjord Testbed. Visitors at ONS can observe a live data feed from the operational Oslofjord installation, showcasing how persistent subsea sensing and real-time data streaming support critical offshore protection.

“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.

This rollout builds on major defense and infrastructure contracts secured by KONGSBERG earlier this year. These include surveillance services for Princess Elisabeth Island in the North Sea—comprising drone detection radar and vessel traffic services—as well as an underwater protection project for an undisclosed international client. Within KONGSBERG’s technology portfolio, Aegir serves as a dedicated subsea monitoring layer for persistent situational awareness around ports and high-value offshore sites.