{"id":40068,"date":"2019-09-19T17:02:06","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T17:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/19\/nato-allies-unleash-their-drones-in-the-waters-off-portugal\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:16:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:16:02","slug":"nato-allies-unleash-their-drones-in-the-waters-off-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2019\/09\/19\/nato-allies-unleash-their-drones-in-the-waters-off-portugal\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO allies unleash their drones in the waters off Portugal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation tests acoustic networks during last year’s Exercise REP. (NATO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 Off the Atlantic coast of Portugal\u2019s Sesimbra and Troia peninsulas, NATO is hosting a gathering of its robot ships<\/a> and aircraft that the partner nations hope will soon pepper the ocean with sensors for hunting submarines,<\/a> mines and ships, fused together in a surveillance network unrivaled in maritime history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several nations along with the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation have gathered \u201cdozens of unmanned underwater, surface and air vehicles\u201d for Exercise REP (MUS) 19, held Sept. 11-19, according to a NATO news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 800 service members and civilians from the Portuguese Navy, as well as Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, are participating in the exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exercise follows up on a July 2018 agreement between the allies to work together to develop unmanned maritime systems<\/a>, a goal that experts say is primarily aimed at increasing pressure on Russian submarines operating in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNATO members are alarmed by the growing threat from Russian submarines, and are investing more resources to deal with it,\u201d Jorge Benitez, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said during an interview. \u201cUnder [President Vladimir] Putin, Russia has deployed new, stealthier submarines in the north Atlantic that are much harder for NATO navies to track.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benitez previously served as the lead on NATO issues for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Office of Naval Research launches a REMUS 600 autonomous underwater vehicle for mine search and identification operations off the coast of Bornholm Island during BALTOPS 2018. The U.S. Navy is among the nations participating in a drone exercise off the coast of Portugal this September. (U.S. Navy MCC America Henry)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis new multinational cooperation in undersea drones is the most recent example that NATO is taking the Russian threat in the north Atlantic much more seriously than it has in the past quarter century,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A release announcing the exercise acknowledged as much, saying that submarines armed with more powerful weapons, such as Russia\u2019s Kalibr cruise missile, pose a significant threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew maritime unmanned systems technologies can be a game-changer in countering multiple threats in the maritime domain,\u201d the release said. \u201cUsing Maritime Unmanned Vehicles can help effectively counter new submarines armed with more powerful weapons. They can also prevent military personnel from moving into risky situations in countering threats like sea mines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t