Saab-Led Consortium to Develop NATO's Underwater Battlespace Project

NATO has selected the Saab-led MANGROVE consortium to lead the Allied Underwater Battlespace Mission Network (AUWB-MN) project.

According to Saab, the project officially began on 1 September 2025 and aims to ensure interoperability between Maritime Uncrewed Systems and conventional naval platforms across allied nations.

As part of the initiative, the consortium is developing a Reference Architecture and Test & Reference Environment for a mission network that integrates both crewed and uncrewed systems operating above, on, and below water.

The system is designed to enable fast and secure cross-domain information exchange, supporting joint military operations. The ultimate goal is to establish a new interoperability standard for NATO.

The consortium was selected on16 July 2025 under NATO’s Digital Ocean and Antisubmarine Warfare Barrier Smart Defence Initiative.

The project is backed by 12 nations, led by the United Kingdom, and includes Sweden, the United States, Australia, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway all of whom have committed to adopting the developed standard.