Norway’s plans to recapitalise a major portion of its surface fleet have taken a significant step forward with the selection of a team of Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace (KDA) and Salt Ship Design AS to design a new Standardised Vessel (Standardiserte fartøy) class for the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) and the Norwegian Coast Guard (Kystvakten).

The NDMA announced the downselection on 30 March 2026. KDA and Salt Ship Design will now undertake development and definition activities in conjunction with the NDMA and the Norwegian armed forces.

While the NDMA acknowledges that the contract is relatively modest in monetary terms (the actual value has not been disclosed) it is strategically important in that it establishes the foundations for one of Norway’s largest maritime investments in the coming decades. Enshrined in the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Long-Term Defence Plan 2025–2036, the Project 1118 Standardised Vessel programme plans the acquisition of up to 28 vessels in two variants – 10 larger ocean-going ships and 18 smaller coastal platforms – to meet the collective needs of the RNoN and the Coast Guard. The new ships are intended to replace several existing classes and endow a level of commonality that will simplify maintenance, reduce running costs and ensure a more efficient operating profile.

Norway’s Future Acquisitions for the Defence Sector 2026–2033 document estimates the total programme cost at more than NOK 5 billion (USD 512.6 million). As well as representing a key vector for growth in Norway’s maritime industry, the Project 1118 acquisition also has important international dimension: both Lithuania and the UK have already concluded bilateral agreements for the acquisition of standardised vessels, and other nations are showing interest.

Background

Norway’s Long-Term Defence Plan 2025–2036, first presented in April 2024 and refreshed in March 2026, set out the need to develop a modern and robust naval service that can operate in an increasingly complex threat landscape. To achieve this, a new Fleet plan 2024 has been developed which seeks to replace the surface fleet and expand the procurement of new submarines.

Fleet plan 2024 has three main pillars: the acquisition of at least five advanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates under a strategic partnership with a close ally (being met through the procurement of Type 26 ASW frigates in a cooperation with the UK); increasing the number of next-generation Type 212CD submarines from four to six (building on an existing strategic cooperation with Germany); and procuring new Standardised Vessels in two sizes together with modular sensors and weapons.

The Standardised Vessel programme has been conceived to provide a flexible and cost-efficient means to address the replacement of multiple navy and Kystvakten ship classes now becoming due for replacement. For the RNoN, these legacy types comprise the six Skjold-class coastal corvettes, four Alta/Oksøy-class mine countermeasures vessels, and two Reine-class patrol vessels; for the Coast Guard, the ships to be replaced consist of the three Barentshav-class salvage and rescue tugs, five Nornen-class patrol vessels, the salvage tug KV Harstad, the offshore support vessel (OSV) KV Bison, and the tug/supply vessel KV Jarl.

Concept exploration studies involving the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, the NDMA, the RNoN and the Norwegian Armed Forces examined different ways to address the capability gaps arising from the retirement of existing vessel classes. This work developed a new force structure in which existing navy and Coast Guard ships would be replaced by a mix of crewed and uncrewed assets including a new class of Standardised surface vessels adopting a modular design philosophy.

The precept was that modularity would enable the embarkation and integration of different equipment payloads, including uncrewed and autonomous systems, tailored to specific military and constabulary missions. Allied to this, high levels of commonality across equipment and systems would simplify maintenance and training, and reduce through-life support costs.

The intention is that the new ships will be based, as far as possible, on commercial standards and commercially-available technology, with military standards only be applied where considered necessary. They are also intended to incorporate ‘green’ technologies and emission reduction solutions – such as alternative fuels and energy-efficient power and propulsion architectures – to improve sustainability in service.

Acquisition plan

With the first vessel planned for delivery in 2030, the NDMA has recognised that the Standardised Vessel acquisition programme must adhere to a very taut schedule: the shipbuilding competition is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with a construction contract expected in 2027.

The design competition has been run at a national level, reflecting a need for emergency preparedness, security of supply, and an aspiration to further develop sovereign expertise. According to the NMDA, a total of 11 design houses participated in an initial qualification phase at the start of 2026. Six proposers were shortlisted – Breeze Ship Design, Kongsberg Maritime, LMG Marin, KDA/Salt Ship Design, Skipsteknisk and Ulstein Design & Solutions AS – of which three submitted final tenders.

After an overall assessment of competence, implementation ability, technical maturity and price, the team of KDA and Salt Ship Design was considered the best bidder to develop the design. “The award marks an important step in the development of the maritime capacity of the future,” said NDMA Director General Gro Jære. “In close cooperation with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency and the Norwegian Armed Forces, the supplier will develop a complete and neutral technical basis that will be the foundation for the upcoming shipbuilding competition.”

The objective of the design phase is to develop a reference design that will strike an optimum balance between operational needs, technology enablers and cost. The programme schedule requires that the Standardised Vessel requirements specification and reference design is complete by the end of 2026. This will enable the shipbuilding competition to run from Q4 2026 to Q2 2027.

Design concept

While not expressly mentioned by the NDMA, the design concept put forward by KDA and Salt Ship Design is based on the Vanguard solution iterated by KDA over the past decade. Vanguard has conceptualised two platform designs – a larger Blue Water Platform and a smaller Sheltered Water Platform – sharing significant commonality in systems and equipment. The idea is that payload modules and equipment toolboxes are embarked to deliver a specified task or mission set.

Modules are a combination of installed (baseline) and/or deployable systems. The installed baseline modules include sensor and weapon systems that require more complex installation and integration – for example, radar systems mounted topside or sonar systems requiring hull interfaces.

Deployable modules could include towing and salvage gear, search and rescue equipment, vehicles, weapons, and support units/workshops. To simplify storage, handling and exchange, the Vanguard concept envisages the use, wherever possible, of ISO standard container interfaces.

KDA uses the term ‘fleet elasticity’ to characterise the Vanguard concept, and highlights three key tenets: rapid fleet expansion through the ability to quickly and cost-effectively increase the number of platforms; dynamic fleet capabilities by deploying modules and toolboxes on the platforms; and fleet flexibility through the interchange of different toolboxes across platforms.

KDA acknowledges that the system capabilities required for coast guard and naval missions are quite different. “The coast guard is required to remain operational and resilient in extreme peacetime conditions up to and including crises, while the navy must be prepared to engage an enemy in conflict and war,” said the company. “Combining these extremes into a single system risk making it multi-useless rather than multi-capable.”

The key challenge, therefore, is therefore to address the two problem sets in a judicious manner, and without skewing the design process to favour one set of requirements over the other. “Each vessel does not need to handle all tasks simultaneously, but by incorporating different toolboxes and modules, the fleet’s overall capabilities are enhanced,” KDA said.

International agreements

The UK has already committed to acquire Project 1118 vessels as part of the strategic accord underpinning Norway’s procurement of Type 26 frigates. Signed on 4 December 2025, the Lunna House Agreement establishes a vision for a combined Type 26 fleet that will be as integrated and interoperable as possible, providing opportunities for UK and Norwegian industrial cooperation to spirally develop the vessels and deliver in-service support.

Additionally, the agreement has identified an initial tranche of common strategic programmes, including the Naval Strike Missile, Sting Ray lightweight torpedo, and the Standardised Vessel. In the latter case, it is intended that the larger Standardised Vessel platform will satisfy the Offshore Support Vessel requirement associated with the Royal Navy’s Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) Block 2 programme. Current planning assumptions underpinning the MHC Block 2 programme envisage the acquisition of three ‘hosting’ OSVs to support deployed operations with uncrewed/autonomous mine countermeasures payloads.

Design excursion studies have already examined the exploitation of a Vanguard solution for the OSV requirement. The expectation is that the Standardised Vessel will provide the RN with a versatile and capable OSV above a baseline minimally-modified commercial OSV solution.

Norway has also entered into an agreement with Lithuania on the delivery of Standardised Vessels. This initiative, announced in May 2025, follows bilateral discussions to explore ship designs that could meet Lithuania’s specific operational requirements.