Saab to Spearhead NATO's New Underwater Defense Project

The Saab-led MANGROVE consortium has been selected by NATO to lead the Allied Underwater Battlespace Mission Network project (AUWB-MN), aimed at improving interoperability for maritime uncrewed systems and conventional platforms between allied naval forces.

The project, which formally started earlier in September, is designing a Reference Architecture and a Test and Reference Environment for a mission network that leverages both crewed and uncrewed systems, above, on and below the water.

The mission network will facilitate rapid and secure information exchange, and integration across domains, supporting combined operations between all branches of the military. The outcome is expected to become a new standard for NATO.

The consortium was selected in July 2025 and the project is part of NATO's Digital Ocean and Antisubmarine Warfare Barrier Smart Defence Initiative.

It is sponsored by twelve different nations led by the U.K., together with Sweden, the U.S., Australia, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway. Together they have committed to adopting the standard developed through this project.

Saab’s business area Kockums is leading the multinational consortium, MANGROVE, comprising CETENA and IDS part of Fincantieri Group, FlySight, GraalTech, Miraya, Saab UK and BlueBear, S2IX and the University of Plymouth.

“Saab is delighted to lead this pivotal project for NATO. All of the MANGROVE consortium's expertise and collaborative focus for the next 12 months will be on the successful development of a mission network for NATO’s operations in the underwater battlespace.

“As all aspects of the underwater domain grow in their strategic significance, this will be a critical contribution to our collective maritime security and defense,” said Mats Wicksell, head of Saab’s business area Kockums.

“The AUWB-MN project is a significant step forward in the modernization of our warfighting capabilities and the ability for NATO allies to operate effectively together in the underwater domain of the future.

“We are confident that Saab and the Mangrove consortium will deliver a robust and effective mission network that strengthens NATO's maritime defense,” added David Burton, Project Director, NATO Antisubmarine Warfare Barrier Smart Defence Initiative.