Royal Navy leads 'game-changing' NATO autonomous tech exercises
Royal Navy vessels have led 'game-changing' NATO exercises that look to use autonomous tech.
Frigate HMS Lancaster and minehunter HMS Hurworth tested the uncrewed tech, from drones to underwater survey vessels, which could be used by NATO in the future.
The trials lasted one month, with more than 11 warships, 120 autonomous vehicles and 1,500 military and civilian personnel from 15 NATO countries taking part.
HMS Lancaster served as the command hub for a number of the autonomous systems, feeding other ships information and allowing the task group to see and utilise the tech.
Jim Beaton, the UK and Royal Navy lead on the exercise, said the exercise has "been a game-changer".
"This is a huge advancement, and we have taken that forward to support two NATO Standing Naval Forces. Dynamic Messenger saw us take autonomy to sea in a NATO context," he said.
The first exercise was REPMUS, which saw personnel operate in a testing ground designed to allow large-scale experiments for NATO navies and industry partners.
During this, ships and crewless tech were put to the test both above, on and below the water.
Next up was Exercise Dynamic Messenger, where the uncrewed systems were integrated into operations at sea and onshore - the first exercise under NATO command to use autonomous underwater systems.
HMS Lancaster carried out trials with Puma - a battery-powered, hand-launched UAV designed to operate in challenging environments across the world and mainly used for intelligence gathering.
Lieutenant Chris Windsor of 700X, the Royal Navy’s UAV Squadron and drone experts, was operating the Puma from on board the Type 23 frigate and said the exercise was "really exciting".
"I'm an air traffic controller, and the new technology gives us a lot more opportunity for varied jobs," he said,
"I used to be only deployable on the two aircraft carriers, now I’ve operated from P2000s, Batch 2 Offshore Patrol Vessels and now a Type 23.
"There are so many other nations making use of autonomous vehicles so it’s important to keep the momentum we’ve generated in this exercise so that the Royal Navy remains at the cutting edge."
Minehunter HMS Hurworth also hosted a next generation variant of REMUS 200 - an autonomous mine countermeasures underwater vehicle used for mine countermeasures, harbour security and hydrographic surveys.
Lieutenant Thomas Hourigan, Operations Officer on HMS Hurworth, said he believes the technology will make the Royal Navy more successful.
"We are always going to need people to make the final decisions but it's all about the balance between the two," he said.
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