Blue Kite Survey Capability

HUGIN Superior AUV Survey Services

Blue Kite operates a dedicated Kongsberg HUGIN Superior — the most advanced autonomous underwater vehicle in commercial survey service. Managed and operated exclusively by Blue Kite, with full control of vehicle scheduling, mobilisation and deployment from our Malaysian facility.

6,000 m
Depth rating
76 hrs
Endurance per dive
Q2 2027
Available for campaigns
Book a survey campaign
Official HUGIN Superior imagery to follow

Why it changes the game

One vehicle, one dive — geophysical, visual, environmental and electromagnetic datasets acquired together, at depths most commercial fleets cannot reach.

6,000 m depth rating

Full-ocean-depth survey capability. Most commercial AUV fleets are limited to 3,000 m — the HUGIN Superior opens the deepest cable routes, mining prospects and geohazard surveys.

Southeast Asia based

Stationed at our Malaysian logistics and storage facility, delivering faster, lower-cost mobilisation across Southeast Asia and the Middle East than any Europe-based competitor.

Full operational control

Blue Kite controls the vehicle's calendar and movements. No third-party availability risk, no queuing for contractor equipment. Our team brings a wealth of hands-on experience operating and deploying HUGIN systems on survey campaigns worldwide.

The vehicle

Depth rating
6,000 m (operating 10–6,000 m)
Length / diameter
6.6 m / Ø875 mm
Speed range
2–5 knots (survey 3–4 knots)
Battery capacity
67.2 kWh Li-Pol
Endurance
Up to 76 hrs @ 3 kts
Operating modes
Fully autonomous or supervised
Motion stability
< 0.5° roll, pitch, heading @ 4 kts

The sensor suite

HISAS 1032 Dual Rx synthetic aperture sonar — ultra-high-resolution imagery and bathymetry
EM 2040 MkII multibeam echo sounder — dual swath with water column data
Sub-bottom profiler — shallow geology and burial assessment
UHD colour stills camera and dual-mode laser profiler
Self-compensating magnetometer — UXO and ferrous detection
Environmental sensors — turbidity, CH₄, CO₂, dissolved O₂
Listen electromagnetic sensor — see below

Listen: next-generation electromagnetic sensing

Fitted as standard on our HUGIN Superior — a passive electrode and magnetometer system measuring electric and magnetic fields in seawater, acquiring simultaneously with the full sensor suite.

Contactless CP surveys

Full cathodic protection status and remaining-life estimation of pipelines with no physical contact or stabs. CP inspection at AUV survey speed — dramatically reducing survey time and HSE exposure, on exposed and buried lines.

Buried cable positioning

Detects the magnetic field of active buried power cables, delivering accurate position and burial depth estimation without excavation or towed arrays.

Marine mineral exploration

Detection and delineation of seabed mineral deposits, including SMS anomalies — paired with the 6,000 m depth rating for deep-ocean exploration.

6,000 m rated · 0.1 µV/m sensitivity · ±0.5 nT magnetometer resolution · full 3D electric field measurement

Applications

Site survey & geohazard

High-resolution geophysical site characterisation for energy developments.

Cable route survey

Desktop to 6,000 m route survey, plus buried cable positioning and burial verification.

Pipeline inspection

Geophysical, visual and contactless CP inspection in a single pass.

Deep-sea minerals

Full-ocean-depth mapping and electromagnetic delineation of seabed deposits.

Environmental baseline

CH₄, CO₂, O₂ and turbidity acquired alongside every survey.

Availability

January 2027

Vehicle delivery

Early April 2027

Arrival at Blue Kite's Malaysian logistics and storage facility

Q2 2027

Operational — first survey campaigns

Now taking bookings for Q2 2027 onwards

Talk to us about your survey campaign — site survey, cable route, pipeline inspection, deep-sea exploration or environmental baseline.

Contact the Blue Kite team