Military personnel from various NATO allied and partner nations participated in the Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping exercise using Maritime Uncrewed Systems 2022 (REPMUS-22).

REPMUS-22, which commenced on September 12 and concluded September 22, was held in and around Troia Peninsula in Portugal.

Led by Portugal, the exercise involved contributions from NATO Centres of Excellence, NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation, and academia and industry partners. The purpose of the exercise was to support NATO Maritime Uncrewed Systems Initiative (MUSI).

Introduced in 2018, MUSI aims to bolster the collective contribution of the alliance for the development of maritime unmanned systems. Under the latest activities, around 1,500 deployed personnel are working together to evaluate the capabilities of uncrewed systems to coordinate on/above/under the sea. 

REPMUS-22 involved the integration of 120 autonomous assets into a single network, which will act as a test-bed for different experiments and tests.

NATO Defence Investment Division Armament and Aerospace Capabilities director Dr. Giorgio Cioni said: “This is the first time that so many NATO nations have had the opportunity to test the effectiveness of so many systems, concepts, techniques, and procedures related to MUS, ensuring they can work seamlessly together.”

The participants of REPMUS 22 will next undertake a new maritime exercise:  Dynamic Messenger 22, which is being conducted between September 23 through 30.

Being held in the same area, this exercise will test the alliance’s capabilities to use uncrewed systems for countering submarine threats, sea mines, and other asymmetric adversities. It is being held under the joint leadership of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation in the U.S. and NATO’s Allied Maritime Command, Northwood, U.K.

NATO’s Standing Naval Maritime Group 1 and Standing NATO Maritime Counter Measures Group 1 will participate in Dynamic Messenger 22.