Kongsberg and Salt to design Norway's future standardised vessels

A computer-generated image of the Royal Norwegian Navy's future standardised vessels, with the left two representing a possible look for the coastal size and the right two the ocean-going size. (Kongsberg)

Norway's Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Salt Ship Design have been awarded a contract to design a new class of standardised vessels for the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN), according to announcements from the companies and the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) on 30 March 2026.

The NDMA said that the project, part of the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) Long-Term Plan and the Fleet Plan 2024, intends to develop larger ocean-going and smaller coastal platforms to meet the requirements of both the RNoN and the Coast Guard. The P1118 programme, which entered its pre-qualification phase on 22 January, aims to produce up to 28 standardised vessels across the two sizes. These are intended to replace more than 10 existing vessel classes.

Marte Gerhardsen, states secretary in the Norwegian MoD expressed the aspiration that as well as serving Norwegian forces the standardised vessels will be exported.

The NDMA said it wants the vessels designed as much as possible on civilian standards and commercially available technology. It wants Kongsberg and Salt, in collaboration with NDMA, to “develop a complete and neutral [accessible to all bidders] technical basis that will be the foundation for the upcoming shipbuilding competition.”

Gro Jære, director general of the NDMA, noted that the project is operating on a tight timeline. The shipbuilding competition is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with a construction contract expected in 2027 and the first vessel delivery slated for 2030.