Bristol, R.I. – – October 01, 2026 -- Vatn Systems has won the Department of War Innovation Unit's (DIU) Mine Counter Measure Modernization Prize Challenge, with its SIGURD system ranking among the top performers in the Near Surface and Volume Mine Engage Test and Evaluation segment.
SIGURD neutralized mine threats under real mission conditions during DIU evaluation
The system, built on Vatn's Skelmir S6 platform, autonomously detected, reacquired and neutralized mine threats in scenarios designed to replicate field conditions. DIU opened the challenge in May 2026 to identify modular, communication-resilient, and rapidly fieldable technology for underwater mine threat reacquisition and neutralization.
Vatn built SIGURD in weeks by reconfiguring its existing Skelmir S6 platform
SIGURD launched in July 2026 after the company adapted its core autonomous underwater vehicle platform into a dedicated mine countermeasures system in a matter of weeks. The system was designed, tested and verified by a team of former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians.
CEO Nelson Mills links the win to urgent demand for scalable undersea capability
Nelson Mills, co-founder and CEO of Vatn Systems, said mine countermeasures has long been an underfunded and technically demanding naval warfare mission, and that DIU structured the challenge to test which systems could perform under genuine mission conditions. He said the recognition helps the company accelerate its push to deliver undersea superiority at scale.
Win reflects government appetite for affordable mine countermeasure systems
DIU's selection of SIGURD points to growing government demand for affordable, rapidly fieldable mine countermeasures that keep naval personnel at safe standoff distance from underwater threats.