During Dynamic Messenger, three GARCs were used to disrupt attacking USVs and protect critical infrastructure. The annual NATO exercise, combined with the Portuguese-led Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems (REPMUS), aimed to test and enhance the operational use of unmanned maritime systems.
“We continue to advance our robotic and autonomous systems through ongoing testing and combined training with partners and their unmanned systems,” said Adm. Stuart Munsch, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa (NAVEUR/NAVAF), in a news release. “We deeply appreciate our ally, Portugal, for their leadership in maritime experimentation and unmanned systems. Our collective capability is only getting stronger.”
According to NATO, more than 250 systems were tested during Dynamic Messenger, which ran from 15 to 29 September and involved 3,800 participants from 22 nations, including Ukraine. “The training highlighted modern maritime warfare trends, particularly the use of unmanned systems for coordinated strikes and rapid threat response. In this strategic step forward, Ukraine’s leadership brought combat realism to the exercise, driving innovation and the development of new NATO tactics,” reads the NATO release.
GARCs were also deployed off the U.S. East Coast during Exercise UNITAS 2025, the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise. Imagery from the U.S. Department of Defense shows the GARCs operating in the Atlantic Ocean, while littoral combat ship USS Cooperstown (LCS-23) served as a robotics and autonomous systems hub for the operation.
Acting as the drone hub, Cooperstown deployed LASSie, Orca and V-BAT unmanned aerial systems (UAS) as part of a joint naval group led by aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). This marks the second year that unmanned and hybrid fleet systems have participated in UNITAS as part of the U.S. Navy’s efforts to develop its future hybrid fleet.
UNITAS began on 15 September and is scheduled to conclude on Monday, with more than 8,000 personnel from 25 allied and partner nations taking part, according to a U.S. Navy news release. The exercise includes ships, submarines and aircraft operating in the Atlantic Ocean and around key U.S. military bases in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.
Source: USNI News.
