Under a contract with the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency, the sensor solutions provider HENSOLDT will equip submarines of the Norwegian Ula class with new periscopes and optronic mast systems. The contract value is more than EUR 40 million. With the upgrade order, HENSOLDT is ensuring an extension of the service life of the boats, which are more than 30 years old. The Ula class is a Norwegian submarine type which was assembled in Germany in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“HENSOLDT equipped all Ula-class boats in the late 1980s and early 1990s with optics that were state-of-the-art at the time. Three decades later, we are once again ensuring that Norwegian submarines are equipped with first-class vision systems. Equipped with the new optics and optronics, the Ula-class submarines will experience a massive increase in capability,” says Tanya Altmann, Division Manager Optronics & Land Solutions and Managing Director of HENSOLDT Optronics GmbH.
The Ula class consisting of six vessels, is currently the only submarine type in service with the Royal Norwegian Navy. Six submarines were delivered (1989–1992) to the RNoN. All are based at Haakonsvern in Bergen. The boats are all named after places in Norway, with the exception of Uredd (“Fearless” in English), in honour of the World War II submarine HNoMS Uredd (P-41). The ship prefix for RNoN vessels is KNM (Kongelig Norsk Marine, Royal Norwegian Navy), in English HNoMS (His Norwegian Majesty’s Ship).
HENSOLDT is a leading company in the European defence industry with global reach. Based in Taufkirchen near Munich, the company develops complete sensor solutions for defence and security applications. As a technology leader, HENSOLDT drives the development of defence electronics and optronics and is continuously expanding its portfolio based on innovative approaches to data management, robotics and cyber security. With more than 6,500 employees, HENSOLDT achieved a turnover of 1.7 billion euros in 2022. HENSOLDT is listed in the MDAX of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
