This is the kind of training that NATO and the US needs.
For the first time in NATO's history, the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine led, planned, coordinated, and managed the opposing force (OPFOR) during the REPMUS/Dynamic Messenger 25 exercises held in Portugal.
The training incorporated modern trends in naval warfare, particularly the use of unmanned systems for coordinated strikes and rapid response to emerging threats.
This year's exercises combined REPMUS - the world's leading event in maritime robotics and unmanned technologies - with Dynamic Messenger (DYMS), which is part of NATO's series of operational exercises.
During the exercises, unmanned platforms were integrated into the DELTA combat system used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The integration was carried out according to the new NATO standard STANAG 4817, the testing of which was also one of the key goals of the exercise - namely, to verify interoperability, test unmanned systems under various conditions (including electronic warfare), and train operators.
Alongside Ukraine, the REPMUS/DYMS 2025 exercises involved naval forces, enterprises, and research centers from 26 partner nations, as well as representatives from NATO's Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Northwood, the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), the Laboratory of Underwater Systems and Technologies at the University of Porto (LSTS), and the NATO Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative (MUSI).