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From REPMUS to procurement: the four capabilities NATO navies want from USVs

13th October 2026 - 16:36 GMT | by Harry McNeil in London, UK

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Syos Aerospace’s SM400 USV operates during the NATO-linked REPMUS exercise off Portugal. (Photo: Syos Aerospace)

Syos Aerospace will channel its first outside capital into research, production and overseas reach as navies seek jam-resistant, integrated uncrewed fleets.

The evidence of where demand was heading came from Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping using Maritime Uncrewed Systems (REPMUS), the NATO-linked exercise off Portugal in which Syos Aerospace, a manufacturer of uncrewed air, land, surface and underwater vehicles, participated in September. NATO reported that the 2026 event drew more than 300 uncrewed systems.

Jamie Bennett, chief commercial officer at Syos, described the exercise to Shephard as “the closest thing to operational conditions short of an operation”.

He said Syos, which has headquarters in the UK and New Zealand, gained as much from listening as from showing its systems. “Our engineers and

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Harry McNeil

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Harry McNeil


Harry McNeil is Shephard's Naval Reporter. Before joining, he spent almost two years as an …

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