The North Sea has recently served as the testing ground for integrated operations involving both crewed and uncrewed systems. During the Maritime Uncrewed Sea Trials (MUST) 2026, the Royal Netherlands Navy operated aerial, surface and underwater drones together around the patrol vessel DSS Galatea.
The exercise marks the first time the Royal Netherlands Navy has exercised multidomain cooperation in this configuration. The command platform coordinated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) using IDUS (Intelligent Distributed Uncrewed Systems), a command-and-control system developed by the Royal Netherlands Navy for uncrewed operations.
During the trials, the Navy demonstrated the autonomous formation sailing of USVs around Galatea and conducted a FIND operation, in which UAVs, USVs and UUVs worked together to locate and track a target. Both scenarios highlighted how different uncrewed systems can complement one another and enhance the fleet’s operational effectiveness.
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3D printed USVs
Several systems were part of the exercise. Two specially designed and 3D-printed USVs were deployed. The 12-metre USVs were built in just three months in collaboration with MARIN (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands). UAVs from the Navy’s Maritime Drone Team and a V-BAT reconnaissance drone from the Defence Helicopter Command operated above the North Sea, while a UUV supplied by Lobster Robotics carried out underwater tasks.
TNO also participated in the trials. By working with these partners, the Navy aims to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative technologies for future maritime and amphibious operations.
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Annual exercise
MUST 2026 was the first edition of what will become an annual exercise to develop and test new operational concepts. The results will support the further development of the Navy’s uncrewed capabilities and contribute to future international NATO exercises.
Picture: A manned and unmanned naval vessel on the water (photo by the Dutch Ministry of Defence).
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