Task Force X is showcasing NATO’s new autonomous maritime security capabilities in the Baltic Sea throughout this month.
The uncrewed systems demonstrations will both help their integration into wider NATO capabilities and serve as a useful “warm-up” ahead of the Dynamic Messenger exercise planned for the autumn in Portugal alongside the annual REPMUS multinational maritime robotics exercise.
This month’s demonstrations are a joint initiative between NATO’s Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), its Allied Command Transformation (ACT), the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) and participating allied nations.
A series of experiments and activities are planned for various locations throughout the Baltic Sea and will offer further insights about how uncrewed vessels can be most usefully employed.
In a recent MARCOM press statement its Commander, Royal Navy Vice Admiral Mike Utley, commented: “We remain focused on testing the alliance’s ability to trial and integrate uncrewed systems into a networked operational environment.”
He added: “These trials are focused on operational output and enhancing the spiral development of both NATO’s innovation teams and the national initiatives of allies.
“Our objective is to deliver unmanned systems to NATO’s Standing Naval Forces with speed and scale, in the most relevant operational environments, further building on the military advantage of the alliance.”
Head of ACT and French Navy Admiral Pierre Vandier observed: “Task Force X demonstrates NATO’s responsiveness and leverage of rapid innovation in support of the safeguarding of critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.“
He continued: “By combining cost-effective mass solutions with exquisite capabilities, we not only detect unidentified vessels more effectively but also preserve high-value naval assets for priority missions.
“It enables nations to immediately field commercially available dual-use technologies alongside advanced AI-driven platforms, creating layered persistent surveillance at a level of cost that will demonstrate resolve and operational edge through federated capabilities.
“The model’s success — already demonstrated in early Baltic operations — will offer nations in its next step to scale up the model to an even wider protective umbrella.”
- You can read more details on the MARCOM website