From 26 to 29 May 2025, the Italian Navy organized OPEX TASK 1-25 in the Gulf of La Spezia and at the Naval Support and Experimentation Centre (CSSN). This first operational experimentation involved unmanned systems—air, surface, and underwater—as well as C-UAV systems, tested in realistic maritime scenarios to assess their effectiveness and interoperability. The exercise brought together naval units including the FREMM frigate Margottini and the minehunters Rimini and Vieste, alongside industry partners. Admiral Enrico Credendino, Chief of Staff of the Italian Navy, attended the exercise on 28 May to review the final demonstrations and outcomes.

Exploring unmanned and multidomain systems

The week-long trials focused on integrating unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles into naval missions. Scenarios covered mine countermeasures, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance), and C-UAV (counter-unmanned aerial vehicle) defense, testing technologies ranging from sonar and jamming systems to command-and-control software. Several companies contributed to the demonstrations, among them Siralab, Saipem, SIEL, Kraken, Safran, General Defence, Graal Tech, GM Spazio, and SITEP Italia, each providing innovative systems to be evaluated in an operational setting.

SMA-RTY’s contribution: NGCI 5G in action

In collaboration with SITEP Italia S.p.A., SMA-RTY presented a joint demonstration of NGCI, our 5G infrastructure designed for connectivity suited in multidomain operations. The demonstration consisted in a temporary setup combining a gNB NGCI with a 5G antenna positioned just 2 meters above sea level, significantly lower than typical installations. Despite this challenging setup, coverage remained solid across most of the Gulf of La Spezia, and the connection stayed stable along the entire route. The exercise provided an excellent opportunity to refine NGCI in operational conditions, with data collected during the field tests later analyzed to confirm strong coverage throughout the tested area. These results validate the robustness and reliability of NGCI for maritime operations, proving the potential of our 5G solution to support real-time communications between unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and command platforms. By operating in such a challenging environment, SMA-RTY had the opportunity to further refine NGCI’s performance, validating its ability to support real-time mission-critical communications across domains.

Strengthening collaboration for future operations

OPEX TASK 1-25 demonstrated not only the maturity of unmanned and digital technologies, but also the value of partnerships between the Navy and the national defense industry. For SMA-RTY, the exercise confirmed the role of advanced 5G connectivity as an enabler of safer, faster, and more effective naval operations. We thank the Italian Navy for their trust and collaboration and look forward to building on the results of OPEX with further trials and applications of NGCI in future maritime operations.