Nordic Unmanned Awarded €7M EMSA Framework Contract to Deploy Quantum Systems Vector for Ship-Based Maritime Surveillance

Nordic Unmanned has signed a new framework contract with the European Maritime Safety Agency to deliver ship-based VTOL drone surveillance services — introducing the Quantum Systems Vector to EMSA operations and meaningfully extending the coverage European maritime authorities can achieve from a single vessel at sea.

New EMSA contract brings extended range and endurance VTOL capability to multipurpose maritime surveillance operations at sea

SANDNES, Norway — Nordic Unmanned has been awarded a EMSA framework contract introducing mid-range fixed-wing VTOL surveillance to vessel-based maritime operations across European waters.

The contract reinforces EMSA operational vessel-based RPAS service portfolio with mid-range fixed-wing VTOL surveillance launched directly from a vessel’s deck. The platform combines the deck-launch flexibility of a multicopter with the endurance and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. For the authorities performing coast guard functions across member states, this is a step up in what a single patrol vessel can monitor — sustained for hours, across an operational area rather than the waters immediately around the ship.

The primary platform is the Quantum Systems Vector — offering up to three hours of endurance and up to 60 km of operational range, with vertical yield-off and landing from confined deck space. The Vector is already in active service under Nordic Unmanned’s EASA LUC for other contracts, with trained crews ready to operate from day one.

Eight years of vessel-based experience
Nordic Unmanned has delivered vessel-based RPAS services to EMSA since 2018 flying several hundred missions per year on average from close to twenty different vessels deployed across the Mediterranean, Atlantic, North Sea, Black Sea, and Baltic. Operations have reached as far north as Iceland and across the North Atlantic to Canadian waters. These contracts sit within a broader historical EMSA portfolio that also spans support to a wide range of activities including emissions monitoring, oil spill response, search and rescue and fisheries control

Eight years of running RPAS operations from vessels at sea — across changing weather, mission profiles, and member-state end users — translates into a level of practical readiness that the new framework can build on directly.

From award to signature
The award in early 2026 was followed by a successful Initial Configuration Test conducted in March, ahead of EMSA’s contract signature in May between EMSA and Nordic Unmanned. Quantum Systems, although not a contracting party, is supplying the Quantum Systems Vector system.

Ole Benjamin Wike, CEO & Accountable Manager, Nordic Unmanned AS: “Vessel-based drone surveillance has moved from being a capability demonstration to becoming core operational infrastructure for maritime authorities. What matters in awards like this is operational readiness — bringing the right platforms into demanding service from day one, with systems and crews already qualified under our LUC. Together with Quantum Systems, we are bringing the Vector into service for EMSA’s end users — ready to support maritime authorities across EU member states — extending what a single vessel can monitor.”

Martin Karkour, CRO, Quantum-Systems GmbH: “Maritime operations are becoming an increasingly important strategic domain for UAV. The integration of Vector into ship-based surveillance missions demonstrates how Quantum Systems can support European authorities with UAV capabilities for demanding maritime environments. This marks an important step in expanding Quantum Systems’ role in the maritime domain.”

About Nordic Unmanned
Nordic Unmanned AS is a leading European drone-as-a-service company headquartered in Sandnes, Norway. The company operates under an EASA Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC) — and has accumulated more than 23,000 BVLOS flight hours across operations in over 20 countries. Services span governmental and maritime surveillance, critical infrastructure inspection, cargo and logistics, and defence and security.

About Quantum Systems
Quantum Systems is a global high-tech company specializing in unmanned systems. The company develops integrated hardware, software, and AI systems that deliver operational data in real time and enable informed decision-making across multiple domains. All core technologies are developed in-house and stand for technological excellence, scalability, and sovereignty in the global dual-use market.

Media contacts
Ole Benjamin Wike
CEO & Accountable Manager, Nordic Unmanned
obw@nordicunmanned.com
+47 971 67 086

Paul Strobel
Global Head of Strategic Communications & Spokesperson, Quantum Systems
+49 160 96246379
pstrobel@quantum-systems.com