How Ukraine "sank" NATO frigate with drones during military exercises: details revealed

A multinational naval team led by Ukraine which played the role of the "enemy" during NATO's REPMUS/Dynamic Messenger exercises 2025 is reported to have exposed vulnerabilities in NATO's naval forces and to have "sunk" at least one allied frigate.

Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), as reported by European Pravda

Details: During the REPMUS/Dynamic Messenger 2025 exercises in Portugal, the "red" team – led by Ukraine and comprising US, British, Spanish and other units – competed against the "blue" team, representing NATO forces, across several scenarios.

A Ukrainian source directly involved in last year's NATO exercises told the outlet that the five training scenarios had included a practice defence of ports and convoys.

The Ukrainian-led team defeated the Alliance's forces in all five scenarios.

Under the exercise rules, those conducting the attacks – that is, targeting enemy ships – were deemed the winners.

The sources said that during a simulated attack on a convoy, the red team scored so many hits on a NATO frigate that in a real battle it would have sunk.

"The problem wasn't that they couldn't stop us. They didn't even see our weapons," the Ukrainian source told FAZ.

The Ukrainians also reportedly brought several versions of their Magura V7 naval drone along to the exercises, including one carrying reconnaissance equipment and an explosive charge and another equipped with a machine gun.

FAZ noted that the exercises had clearly demonstrated that unmanned systems, when combined with operational experience and tested planning, constitute a real threat to NATO naval forces, given that the Alliance is not yet properly prepared for attacks using such weapons.

A NATO spokesperson confirmed to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the exercises took place, describing them as a historic milestone that underscored Ukraine's growing role in NATO exercises, since it was the first time the Ukrainian Navy had coordinated "enemy" forces.

Background:

• As European Pravda has previously reported, Ukrainian military instructors are to train Bundeswehr soldiers to repel a potential Russian attack on NATO as part of an agreement between Kyiv and Berlin.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently said Ukraine had sent a group of drone experts to the Middle East to help protect US military facilities in Jordan.

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