For first time in NATO's history, Ukrainian Navy leads force management in large-scale exercise

The Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the first time in history led and carried out planning, coordination and control of the forces of the conditional enemy (OPFOR) during the exercise REPMUS/Dynamic Messenger 25, which took place in Portugal. The Ministry of Defense has reported this.

The Ukrainian Navy was involved in the exercise to test the capabilities of two dozen NATO member states.

The exercises took into account modern trends in naval warfare, in particular the use of unmanned systems for coordinated strikes and rapid response to threats.

"The operational staff of the Ukrainian Navy organized joint work on planning and controlling the forces of a simulated enemy from Ukraine and partner countries that participated in training operations as part of OPFOR. The joint exercises with the participation of the Ukrainian Navy were successful," the statement said.

This year's exercise combined REPMUS, the world's leading event in maritime robotics and unmanned technology, with Dynamic Messenger (DYMS), part of NATO's series of operational exercises

Brigadier General Wojciech Ozga, Commander of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center (JATEC), emphasized that "by leading the charge, Ukraine has become not only a participant but also a driver of innovation, which directly strengthens NATO's maritime resilience and shapes the future of collective security. JATEC is proud to contribute to this important advancement."

During the exercise, the 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 NATO 4817, the testing of which was also one of the important tasks of the exercise, namely checking their interoperability, testing unmanned systems in various conditions, including electronic warfare and operator training.

Along with Ukraine, forces and assets of navies, enterprises, research centers of 26 partner countries, as well as representatives of NATO's Naval Command Northwood, NATO's Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), the University of Porto's Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technology (LSTS) and NATO's Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative (MUSI) took part in REPMUS/DYMS-2025.

Earlier, the Baltic states issued a statement in support of Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO.