“Mine countermeasures has long been an underfunded and technically demanding mission in naval warfare, and DIU built this challenge to see which systems could perform under real mission conditions,” said Nelson Mills, co-founder and CEO of Vatn Systems. “During DIU’s evaluation, SIGURD autonomously detected, reacquired and neutralized mine threats the way operators would encounter them in the field. As the need for this capability grows more urgent, this win helps us accelerate our mission of delivering undersea superiority at scale.”

DIU opened the MCM Modernization Prize Challenge in May 2026, seeking modular, communication-resilient, and rapidly fieldable capabilities to reacquire and neutralize underwater mine threats. Vatn’s SIGURD system, which pairs autonomous detection and terminal engagement, executed the required missions and was selected by DIU to receive a challenge prize based on its performance.

Vatn launched SIGURD in July 2026, built in a matter of weeks by configuring the company’s Skelmir S6 platform into a dedicated mine countermeasures system. It is designed, tested, and verified by a team of former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians. Vatn’s win in DIU’s challenge points to growing government interest in affordable, rapidly fieldable mine countermeasures capability that keeps warfighters at safe standoff.