NATO is conducting two exercises in Portugal’s Troia Peninsula to train participants on integrating new maritime technologies into joint military operations and operating autonomous underwater vehicles.
The Dynamic Messenger 23 drills commenced training activities on Monday under the joint leadership of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation in the United States and Allied Maritime Command in the United Kingdom.
The exercise aims to incorporate maritime unmanned systems into NATO’s military maneuvers and improve personnel and training readiness.
NATO said over 2,000 civilian and military personnel from 14 member countries are participating in the second edition of the event, which the alliance inaugurated in 2022.
At the same, the 2023 Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems exercise is playing out. REPMUS 23 is focused on capability development and interoperability enhancement.
The training event holds annual large-scale experimentation to support the academe and the industry’s collaborative efforts of developing and testing operational concepts and technological innovations.
According to the organization, REPMUS 23 intends to advance strategies in command, control and communications and reinforce the methods for deploying maritime unmanned systems in multi-domain operations.
Fifteen NATO member nations are involved in the exercise, including partners Ireland and Sweden.
REPMUS 23 runs from Sept. 11 through 22 while Dynamic Messenger 23 takes place from Sept. 18 through 29.