In an increasingly ambiguous world, prioritising research, development and experimentation - including exploiting innovative concepts and technological advances – is vital for the defence of our Nation.

The Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned System (REPMUS), hosted by the Portuguese Navy, and sponsored by NATO, takes place in September 2024. 

It is a month-long series of exercises for military and scientific experts testing new technologies and operational concepts.

The exercises will focus on UxS capability development, helping NATO navies achieve interoperability and interchangeability and establishing common communications/data infrastructure. The 2024 exercises will involve many NATO members and partner countries, as well as industry and academia. 

Thales engineers, and support teams will be onsite throughout the exercise, working closely with the Royal Navy teams and their allies.

The exercises provide a safe and controlled area to test concepts and deploy new and advancing technologies relating to Uncrewed Maritime Systems.

From protecting critical infrastructure, mine countermeasures (MCM), over-the-horizon autonomous MCM, anti-submarine warfare (ASW), multi-domain intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), amphibious battlefield preparation, and multi UxS command-and-control (C2).

NATO’s effectiveness is built upon the hard work in developing shared skills, common standards, operating models and equipment. REPMUS provides a perfect opportunity to build upon this capacity.

The exercises will test the Alliances readiness to use uncrewed systems to counter security challenges ranging from conventional submarine threats to sea mines and asymmetric threats.

The focus is on developing equipment and testing its effectiveness across allied nations in real-world scenarios, with the aim of developing uncrewed technology – from Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to underwater survey vessels – that could be used by NATO and its allies on the front lines of future operations.

Thales engineers and staff have been working with the XV Patrick Blackett crew in the months leading up to REPMUS, helping the platform get ready for the September exercises in Portugal through the integration of our AI-enabled software and sensing technology.

Some of the exercises actively supported by Thales engineers and staff include the integration of uncrewed systems on the TACTICOS Combat Management System, experimentation with sensing and perception capabilities using equipment fitted to the XV Patrick Blackett, and working closely with the Royal Navy to advance StrikeNet for sharing data, including to promote interoperability with NATO partners.

It offers a great opportunity to bring together some of NATO countries, get their feedback on the systems to accelerate experimentation into operational outcomes, fast.

There are so many other nations making use of autonomous systems - it’s important to keep the momentum so that the Royal Navy remains at the cutting edge.

^{Andrew Humphries, Produce Line Manager, ISR Systems}

AI and Collaborative Autonomy

As AI is being harnessed to more effectively identify mines, a key aim of the REPMUS exercises is to explore how MCM forces can move to being less dependent on human operators to conduct MCM analysis of the gathered data.

One particular session will explore whether, by using uncrewed maritime vehicles and relying on autonomous capabilities and AI, the uncrewed MCM vehicles can match and eventually surpass the capability of manned MCM assets.

This year, Thales and Schiebel will build on previous demonstrations and test collaborative autonomy solutions, at REPMUS 24, enabled by a ‘system of systems’ architecture.

Key to this is the Multi-Mission Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System (RWUAS) combining Thales UxS mission system capabilities (such as TACTICOS and MCUBE) and integration capabilities with the Schiebel S-100, our partners for the Royal Navy Peregrine programme. This has the ability to rapidly re-role with a range of different Thales mission capabilities such as for AEW, EW, ASW, MWto deliver critical maritime mission outcomes.

NATO’s REPMUS ‘24

The REPMUS exercises will set the stage to deliver against several ground-breaking objectives, including the development and evaluation of operational concepts involving crewed/uncrewed teaming, exploiting capabilities to enhance maritime situational awareness, and the evaluation of a variety of mission capabilities and network integration across all domains. 

Co-experimentation with end users is key to ensuring capability is operationally ready, and in the hands of those who need it sooner - which is why Thales has invested, in partnership with the Royal Navy, into the Portuguese Navy hosted REPMUS24 exercise, in September.

Further information is available in the video below and further videos can be found here.