NATO forces test naval drone systems during exercise in Portugal

Europe, News September 24, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Twenty-five navies, eight NATO entities, and more than thirty companies and universities came together to participate in two maritime exercises in Portugal focusing on the integration of new maritime technologies into NATO operations and the ability of autonomous underwater vehicles to operate together.

The NATO-led Dynamic Messenger 23 and REPMUS 23 (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems) exercises were held off the coast of Portugal, around the Troia Peninsula. The two exercises focused on integrating Maritime Unmanned Systems or naval drones into operations, including personnel, training, and readiness issues.

Dynamic Messenger 23 exercise brought together more than 2000 civilian and military personnel onshore and on-board ships. Fourteen NATO Allies, including the host nation Portugal, participated in the exercise, together with the NATO partner Sweden.

NATO announced that this is the second iteration of the Dynamic Messenger series which started in 2022. The exercise was conducted under the joint leadership of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation in the United States and NATO’s Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Northwood, United Kingdom.

#NATO exercise #DynamicMessenger'23, led by @NATO_ACT & @NATO_MARCOM, starts in Portugal🇵🇹.
14 #Allies 🇵🇹🇨🇦🇩🇰🇫🇷🇩🇪🇬🇷🇮🇹🇱🇻🇳🇱🇵🇱🇪🇸🇹🇷🇬🇧🇺🇸 & 1 Partner 🇸🇪 focuses on maritime unmanned systems and enhances their capability & interoperability development: https://t.co/GdT5qBZMOF #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/2kH3np4ewX
— NATO ACT (@NATO_ACT) September 18, 2023

NATO’s statement said that the exercise provided an opportunity for NATO personnel to work alongside the private sector and academia, employing flexible operational experimentation techniques to quickly verify and assess an array of benefits potential solutions may offer to capability development, which finds its way into the cycle of capability development that will then inform NATO Allies how they might seamlessly work together in all domains in order to deter aggressors and defend the Alliance, today and in the future.

Exercise REPMUS 23 (Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems) is led by the host nation Portugal with NATO as a key player since 2019. The exercise is co-organized by the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), the University of Porto’s Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technology (LSTS), and NATO’s Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative (MUSI). Fifteen NATO nations are participating in the exercise, along with partners Ireland and Sweden.

NATO personnel are testing the systems in preparation for REPMUS 22 Exercise. (Image Credit: LSTS) — *^{NATO personnel are testing the systems in preparation for the REPMUS 22 Exercise. (Image Credit: LSTS)}*

According to a statement released by NATO, Both REPMUS 23 and DYNAMIC MESSENGER 23 have developed significant partnerships between the private sector and academia, and provide guidance for technology advancements, operational concepts, doctrine, and future work programs.

NATO started focusing on such maritime exercises in 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The effectiveness of drone technology and unmanned combating vehicles has become more evident than ever, especially during the Russia-Ukraine war. NATO allies have been working on developing their own aerial and naval unmanned combating systems that can be integrated into the existing fleets.