The Saab-led Mangrove consortium has been selected by NATO to lead its Allied Underwater Battlespace Mission Network (AUWB-MN) project, Saab announced on 19 September 2025.
The project formally commenced on 1 September 2025 and will deliver interoperability for maritime uncrewed systems and conventional platforms across allied nations. It will design 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 as well as integration across domains, supporting combined operations between all branches of the military.
The outcome is expected to become a new standard for NATO.
The multinational Mangrove consortium was selected on 16 July 2025 and the project is part of NATO’s Digital Ocean and Anti-submarine Warfare Barrier Smart Defence Initiative. It is sponsored by 12 different nations: the UK as the lead nation, along with Sweden, the United States, Australia, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. Together they have committed to adopting the standard developed through this project.
“Saab is delighted to lead this pivotal project for NATO,” Mats Wicksell, head of Saab’s Kockums business area, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “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 defence.”
“The AUWB-MN project is a significant step forward in the modernisation of our warfighting capabilities and the ability for NATO allies to operate effectively together in the underwater domain of the future,” added David Burton, project director for the NATO Anti-submarine Warfare Barrier Smart Defence Initiative. “We are confident that Saab and the Mangrove consortium will deliver a robust and effective mission network that strengthens NATO’s maritime defence.”
Saab’s Kockums business area is leading the consortium, which also comprises the Cetena and IDS subsidiaries of the Fincantieri Group, FlySight, GraalTech, Miraya, Saab UK, BlueBear, S2IX and the University of Plymouth.
