NATO tests naval drones as protection against Russian submarines
Off the Atlantic coast of Portugal, NATO is conducting exercises aimed at testing the combat qualities of its autonomous robotic ships, aircraft and underwater vehicles. Alliance partner countries hope that a systematic approach will fill the ocean with means for hunting submarines, mines and ships. This will create a reconnaissance and surveillance network that has no analogues in the marine stories.
NATO countries, together with the Center for Marine Research and Experiments of the North Atlantic Alliance, brought together "dozens of unmanned submarines, surface and air vehicles" for the exercises held from 11 to 19 September. About 800 military personnel and civilians from the Portuguese Navy, as well as Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States took part in these maneuvers.
The exercises followed the July agreement of 2018 on joint work on the development of unmanned marine systems, which, according to experts, is primarily aimed at increasing pressure on Russian submarines operating in the region.
said Jorge Benitez, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who previously served as NATO chief of staff for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
A press release announcing the exercises acknowledges that submarines armed with such powerful weapons, like the Russian caliber cruise missile, pose a serious threat to NATO.
- noted in a statement by the North Atlantic Alliance.
The U.S. military believes that since the fleet of surface ships and submarines armed with expensive sonar systems is too small to control all of the world's impact points, cheaper systems that can be deployed into a wider network can be an alternative.
Tests of a surface unmanned catamaran
NATO countries, together with the Center for Marine Research and Experiments of the North Atlantic Alliance, brought together "dozens of unmanned submarines, surface and air vehicles" for the exercises held from 11 to 19 September. About 800 military personnel and civilians from the Portuguese Navy, as well as Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States took part in these maneuvers.
The exercises followed the July agreement of 2018 on joint work on the development of unmanned marine systems, which, according to experts, is primarily aimed at increasing pressure on Russian submarines operating in the region.
NATO members are alarmed by the growing threat from Russian submarines and are ready to invest more and more to cope with this threat. Under [President Vladimir] Putin, the Russian Federation introduced fleet in the North Atlantic, new, slower and less noticeable submarines, which are much more difficult for NATO forces to track.
said Jorge Benitez, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who previously served as NATO chief of staff for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Multinational cooperation in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles is the latest example of NATO taking the Russian threat in the North Atlantic much more seriously than in the past quarter century.
- he added.
- he added.
A press release announcing the exercises acknowledges that submarines armed with such powerful weapons, like the Russian caliber cruise missile, pose a serious threat to NATO.
Testing promising marine drones will help to effectively counter new submarines. They can also protect military personnel from threats such as sea mines.
- noted in a statement by the North Atlantic Alliance.
The U.S. military believes that since the fleet of surface ships and submarines armed with expensive sonar systems is too small to control all of the world's impact points, cheaper systems that can be deployed into a wider network can be an alternative.
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