NATO maritime mission network project moves into second phase

NATO’s Allied Underwater Battlespace Mission Network (AUWB-MN) project is moving into its second phase, to deliver a test and reference environment for maritime system networks.

The announcement was made at the Apex Europe conference in London on 7 October by Commodore (Ret) David Burton, Director of NATO's Anti-Submarine Warfare Smart Defence Initiative. 

The AUWB-MN project, which falls under the wider smart defence initiative, aims to provide both a reference architecture and test and reference environment that can aid in the development of networks. This is to ensure that networks connecting distributed crewed and uncrewed platforms can support secure communications and command and control system interoperability. 

“In the undersea space, we don't have common architecture standards and protocols to ensure interoperability,” Burton told DSEI Gateway. “What really makes standards work is if you have a test and validation environment, then industry and nations can use this in advance of any operation or exercise.” 

The completion of the project’s first phase focused on delivering a reference architecture that defines the standards that assets should comply with. This was announced at NATO’s 2026 Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping with Maritime Unmanned Systems exercise which took place over August and September in Portugal, Burton said. 

The final reference architecture will be released at the end of October and will be available to industry in 2027. 

A presentation of the reference architecture is scheduled for July 2027, as part of NATO’s Task Force X-Arctic exercise in the high north. 

What is next for the mission network project? 

The second phase of the AUWB-MN project is expected to last for three years, Burton told DSEI Gateway, enabling the test and reference environment to be iteratively developed. 

Work on the AUWB-MN project is being led by Saab Kockums, as part of the Mangrove consortium. 

The UK is the lead national sponsor of the project, and is joined by Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and the US. Belgium, Finland, and Greece have all shown interest in joining the project.