An international naval group led by Ukraine, acting as the opposing force, conditionally “sank” at least one allied frigate. Vulnerabilities in NATO naval forces have been exposed during the REPMUS/Dynamic Messenger 2025 drills, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the Ukrainian Navy, despite lacking large warships, has pushed Russian forces out of the western part of the Black Sea using sea drones, missiles, and other weapons.
In particular, in 2022, Ukraine sank the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet — the Moskva.
Five scenarios — five victories: Ukrainians led red team
According to participants in the exercises held off the coast of Portugal, five scenarios were practiced, including port protection, convoy escort, and attacks on those convoys.
In every scenario, the “red team,” led by Ukrainians, defeated the “blue team,” representing NATO naval forces.
For the attacks, Ukrainian MAGURA V7 maritime drones were used — high-speed unmanned boats capable of conducting reconnaissance and attacking ships with onboard weapons.
One drone was equipped with reconnaissance systems and an explosive charge, while another carried a machine gun. Other participating countries also used unmanned boats during the drills.
Under the exercise's rules, no real attacks were carried out. To “destroy” a ship, it was enough to aim at the target first and record the targeting on video.
“They didn’t even see us”: drones reveal weak points in NATO’s fleet
During one scenario simulating an attack on a convoy, the “red team” delivered such a large number of conditional strikes against a frigate that in a real battle it would have sunk.
A few minutes later, the “blue team” asked in the general chat, “So are you going to attack us or not?”
“The problem wasn’t that they couldn’t stop us — they didn’t even see us," a Ukrainian source explains.
A NATO representative confirmed that, during these drills, for the first time in the alliance’s history, the Ukrainian Navy led and coordinated the simulated “enemy” actions, calling it a historic milestone that demonstrates Ukraine’s growing role in NATO exercises.
