The exercise involved the participation of the NRP D. Francisco de Almeida, with its organic Lynx MK95A helicopter and a team from the Marine Corps Boarding Detachment, the NRP Sines ship, the X31 operational unit, specialized in the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in support of naval operations, the Navy’s Operational Experimentation Center (CEOM), the American unit Task Force 66 (TF66), and the company SKYRORA.
During the exercise, “hard kill” (kinetic destruction capabilities) and “soft kill” (non-kinetic destruction capabilities) response capabilities against these types of threats were tested and evaluated, using the 76 mm artillery piece, portable weaponry, and fire from helicopters. Several UAVs and USVs were shot down, contributing to the validation of the doctrine developed to combat these new threats in the naval environment.
Simultaneously, specific exercises were conducted between the NRP D. Francisco de Almeida and the NRP Sines, with the aim of training and certifying the Navigation Specialist Officers, including anchorage approach maneuvers, approach for replenishment at sea (RAS) and navigation in restricted waters.
The C-UXV contributed to strengthening the Portuguese Navy’s capacity to detect, identify, validate, and neutralize threats from unmanned vehicles, as well as to train and certify its personnel, promoting interoperability between naval, air, and land assets and cooperation with the national and international technology sector.