IRIA News

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More than 450 participants from 19 NATO countries and three partner states, including Ukraine, gathered in the Netherlands for NATO’s Counter Unmanned Aircraft System Technical Interoperability Exercise (C-UAS TIE24).

The exercise was held from September 10 to 20, 2024 to strengthen interoperability and enhance the ability to counter malicious drone activity. NATO’s military, scientific, and industry specialists joined the C-UAS TIE24 to test high-tech commercial solutions to detect, identify, and neutralize drones.

More than 60 systems and technologies, including sensors, effectors, jammers, and threat drones, were tested live during the exercise to ensure these solutions can connect instantly and operate seamlessly together. The exercise was hosted by the C-UAS Joint Nucleus within the Dutch Ministry of Defence and organized by the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA).

Ukraine’s first active participation in the exercise is a key step in the NATO-Ukraine Innovation Cooperation Roadmap, approved by NATO and Ukrainian leaders at the Washington Summit. Exercises like C-UAS TIE offer a valuable opportunity to jointly tackle critical challenges, including drone autonomy and interoperability, while also drawing on Ukraine’s battlefield experience in countering small drones.

According to the NCIA statement, “The TIE24 provided a unique opportunity to learn from Ukraine’s battlefield experience in countering small drones and help address [the] most pressing challenges, such as drone autonomy and interoperability in a collaborative and mutually reinforcing way.”

NCIA Chief of Staff Major General Hans Folmer, who observed the exercise, said “The commercial and military use of drones has grown rapidly, and unfortunately, so has their misuse, particularly by non-state actors. This presents an increasing threat to NATO’s operations and everyday defense activities.”

Major General Folmer added, “In response, NATO has been fully committed to better understanding drone detection and to developing effective countermeasures. This exercise stands as a clear demonstration of that commitment.”

According to the NCIA statement, “NCIA, through its C-UAS Centre of Expertise, is working closely with NATO’s Emerging and Security Challenges Division to ensure interoperability and standardization in data exchange among diverse C-UASs and components across the Alliance. An important part of this work is the development of NATO’s first counter doctrine, which will provide a robust framework for NATO to efficiently detect, track, and neutralize the threat.”

Incorporating counter-drone technologies into NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) is vital to strengthening the Alliance’s enhanced deterrence and defense posture, the NATO statement highlighted. Such exercises also enhance the Allies’ air defense and support collective security.

NATO Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems

Separately from September 9 to 27, NATO Allies participated in the REPMUS (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems) exercise in Portugal to test the ability of autonomous systems to operate together and to increase the Alliance’s understanding of new threats in the maritime domain.

The exercise involved representatives from partner nations, NATO commands, and research institutions. REPMUS is the world’s leading experimentation exercise with maritime unmanned systems.

During the exercise, participants strengthened situational awareness of new emerging and disruptive technologies and conducted high-end exercises connecting maritime surveillance assets across Allied nations below, on, and above the sea.

NATO is pacing efforts to detect and counter threats in the maritime domain, particularly in response to an increasingly challenging security environment. This year’s exercise focused on the integration of autonomous vehicles in multi-domain operations, including anti-submarine warfare, naval mine warfare, and the protection of Critical Undersea Infrastructure.

The NATO statement highlighted that Exercise REPMUS 24 provided a platform for operators from NATO member states to test new systems in multi-domain experiments. “The experimentation conducted during the exercise will help accelerate the development and refinement of technology, operational concepts, and doctrine,” it added.