Dark Drones 2026 brought together leading Norwegian and international actors in autonomous drone technology for presentations, panel debates, and live demonstrations in Trondheim. The event focused on defense, security, situational awareness, and collaboration between industry and military actors.

Denis Kanin from Ukraine, representing Defence Innovation Highway (DIH), discussed the rapid development of both remote-controlled and autonomous drones in Ukraine. He highlighted how technological experiences from conflict areas can inspire innovation in peacetime and open new opportunities for both industry and defense.

Dark Drones 2026. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Alberts Spila from the Ukrainian-Latvian company DK Nejet, which plans to produce 40,000 drones this year, said:

“We want to be part of the industry here in Norway. We already have early-stage collaboration on products that we will test on the front line in a few months, and Trondheim will become our global integration office.”

Alberts Spila, DK Nejet. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Read also: Ukrainian-Latvian drone company establishes office in Trondheim

Autonomous Solutions for Air, Surface, and Underwater Operations

Dark Drones demonstrated how the drones of the future can operate across multiple domains: in the air, on the water surface, and underwater.

Fugro was highlighted as a world leader in seabed mapping and inspection. Jan Arvid Ingulvsen presented a video of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) operating in 6-meter waves. Fugro delivers solutions for situational awareness, including UAVs, USVs, and remote operation centers (ROCs) for global operations.

Jan Arvid Ingulvsen, Fugro. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Sander Henriksen from Nordic USV showed how multiple autonomous drones can operate along large parts of the coastline from a single ROC, with multiple docking stations and built-in redundancy to ensure safe operations.

Torstein Skogset from WaterLinked emphasized that underwater operations are one of the most challenging domains, even more demanding than air or space. The company develops navigation systems using Doppler technology and 3D sonar, combined with sensor fusion to make drones compact, robust, and efficient. WaterLinked collaborates with partners including Skarv and Blueye Robotics.

Torstein Skogset, WaterLinked. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Sigmund Henningsen from SentiSystems presented GNSS-denied operations, referring to autonomous navigation without GPS, with examples from autonomous ferries in the Sognefjord, aviation, and future lunar navigation.

Øyvind Smogeli from Zeabuz presented dual-use autonomy solutions, where multi-sensor systems enable autonomous sailing, remote operations, and SLAM-based navigation for GPS-denied environments.

The ZeaFalcon Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) from Zeabuz was among the autonomous vessels demonstrated. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Situational Awareness with AI

Several panel debates at Dark Drones emphasized the importance of AI and advanced sensor networks.

Tore Norheim Hagtun from Clarify presented Gjallarhorn, a collaborative project that integrates data from multiple surface, underwater, and aerial sensors. He stressed:

“Too much data without context is useless, and speed in decision-making is a weapon in itself.”

Trygve Olav Fossum from Skarv Technologies highlighted that physical resources alone are no longer sufficient; software and data analysis are essential for autonomous missions, such as scallop searches in the Barents Sea and port security operations.

Trygve Olav Fossum demonstrating the Skarv underwater drone. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Squarehead demonstrated how acoustic sensors can detect drones, boats, and helicopters, while Kahu collects and organizes radar and AIS data for dual-use operations offshore and onshore.

The panel also highlighted the challenges of underwater operations, which remain largely unregulated, and the importance of access to test areas for air, surface, and subsea operations. Defense systems are complex “systems of systems,” and AI will increasingly support real-time decision-making.

Dark Drones 2026. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Demo Day with Practical Demonstrations

The second day of Dark Drones was Demo Day, where multiple companies showcased drones in the air, on the water surface, and underwater. Drone detection systems, counter-drone solutions, and Remote Operation Centers (ROCs) were also demonstrated.

Nanodrone from Teledyne FLIR. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Demonstrations took place at Trondheim Maritime Center, Dora 2 Pier, and the Nyhavna harbor basin. Participating companies included Skarv, Blueye Robotics, Teledyne FLIR, DK Nejet, Airolit, Maritime Robotics, Eelume, and Kongsberg Discovery. In addition, Clarify, Wsense, WaterLinked, Ocean Access, and Fugro offered continuous presentations of their technology and solutions.

Pictures from Dark Drones and demonstrations

Levi Jamt demonstrating control of autonomous vessels from the Zeabuz Remote Operations Center (ROC) at Nyhavna. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Thomas Nygaard (Eelume), Eirik Hovstein (Maritime Robotics), Christian Gabrielsen (Blueye Robotics), and Vegard Forbord (Biodrone) showcasing the collaborative Eelume WP960 project. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

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Dennis Kanin, Defence Innovation Highway (DIH). Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Dark Drones 2026. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Tore Norheim Hagtun from Clarify presenting the Gjallarhorn project. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Beata Hranaiova, Founder & CEO of Kahu. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Eelume WP960, autonomous vessel for mine countermeasures. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Nanodrone from Teledyne FLIR. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Tore Norheim Hagtun, Clarify. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset / Fremtidens Industri

Watch NRK’s coverage of Dark Drones 2026