Allied Command Transformation Advances Innovation and Integration in the Baltic Region.
The Finnish Navy hosted a landmark operational trial of uncrewed maritime systems in June 2025, marking the first large-scale NATO event of its kind in Finnish waters. Conducted near the Coastal Brigade base in Upinniemi and in the Gulf of Finland, the activity formed part of NATO Allied Command Transformation’s Task Force X Baltic (TFXB) initiative, which focuses on rapidly developing deployable maritime capabilities through emerging and disruptive technologies.
This multinational event advanced the objectives of TFXB by providing an operational environment to test uncrewed platforms across surface, subsurface, and air domains. The trials offered valuable insight into how Allied nations and industry partners can integrate innovative technologies to support maritime situational awareness and cross-domain coordination.
Industry-Led, Multi-National Participation
A range of uncrewed surface and underwater systems were demonstrated by participating American and French companies in this operational experimentation led by NATO’s Allied Maritime Command. Three firms from the United States brought a total of 12 uncrewed surface vessels, while one French company provided a surface vessel and another contributed five underwater vehicles. While NATO Allied Command Transformation provided the data sharing environment, standards and protocols, each system was operated independently by the commercial teams, allowing for a broad survey of design philosophies, sensor packages, and mission profiles.
“This differed from a typical international exercise in that the exercise team did not consist of Allied soldiers and equipment, but rather different companies operated their own unmanned systems,” said Lieutenant Commander Aleksi Rantanen of the Finnish Navy Command.
The platforms were tasked with generating maritime situational awareness imagery using a combination of cameras, radar systems, and autonomous tracking. One vessel featured a tethered unmanned aerial component connected via cable to its mothership, enabling continuous power and data transmission and near-indefinite flight time.
Finnish Waters as a Testing Ground
The Finnish Navy played a central role in both the planning and execution phases and provided the trial with its 24/7 Recognized Maritime Picture from the Gulf of Finland. Moreover, Finnish personnel supported the command architecture and contributed extensive local expertise and surveillance infrastructure, providing a demanding littoral environment for trial participants.
“We were excited to host this event because we were able to see different types of technical solutions from different manufacturers performing real missions in the conditions off the Finnish coast,” Rantanen noted.
The challenging geography and dense maritime traffic of the Finnish coastline presented a unique operational context for evaluating system performance. Unlike open-ocean trials, the shallow waters, narrow passages, and variable weather of the Baltic required systems to demonstrate adaptability, precision, and resilience.
Rantanen emphasized that the experience deepened understanding of how such systems could augment traditional naval capabilities: “Unmanned systems will not replace traditional warships but will complement their performance and enable us to carry out our missions in a new way.”
Advancing NATO Transformation through Task Force X Baltic
This trial served as a live demonstration supporting the strategic objectives of Task Force X Baltic, Allied Command Transformation’s framework for accelerating capability development through experimentation and innovation. Each event conducted under TFXB explores how to integrate commercial technologies, enhance Allied interoperability, and increase flexibility in future operations.
In addition to obvious operational benefits gained in the field of emerging and disruptive technologies, the trial demonstrated the Finnish Navy’s ability to provide host nation support on short notice for operational experimentation within the Alliance.
The use of uncrewed systems is not an objective in itself. What matters most are the tangible benefits these systems bring in terms of combat effectiveness, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility.
By contributing to this phase of Task Force X Baltic, Finland reinforced its role as a key Allied partner in shaping NATO’s future force and expanding the frontiers of maritime innovation.