Previously known as NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC), the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) is a scientific research and experimentation

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

facility that organises and conducts scientific research and technology development, centred on the maritime domain, to address defence and security needs of the Alliance. It is an executive body of NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO). It was established in 1959.

Research areas

CMRE conducts projects in the following major research areas: *

Littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

intelligence, surveillance and

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

* Autonomous surveillance *Port and ship protection *Maritime

situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness, often abbreviated as SA is the understanding of an environment, its elements, and how it changes with respect to time or other factors. It is also defined as the perception of the elements in the envi ...

*Robotic/Intelligent preparation of the

battlespace Battlespace or battle-space is a term used to signify a military strategy which integrates multiple armed forces for the military theater (warfare), theatre of operations, including aerial warfare, air, information warfare, information, ground w ...

*Active sonar risk

mitigation Mitigation is the reduction of something harmful that has occurred or the reduction of its harmful effects. It may refer to measures taken to reduce the harmful effects of hazards that remain ''in potentia'', or to manage harmful incidents that ...

Organisation

CMRE employs scientists and support staff from NATO member nations. Scientists rotate through the centre on a contract basis with a fixed time limit (typically three years with a possible two-year extension). As of December 2023, the Director is Dr. Eric Pouliquen. Dr. Pouliquen assumed duties in December 1 2023, taking over from the previous Director, Dr. Catherine Warner. After 2012, the post of Research Division Head, in charge of the scientific programme, was occupied by Dr. Sandro Carniel.

Facilities

CMRE has two ships for conducting NATO research: the NATO Research Vessel (NRV) ''Alliance'' and the Coastal Research Vessel (CRV) ''Leonardo''. The NRV ''Alliance'' is a 93-metre ship commissioned in 1988. Its double hull and propulsion system make it one of the quietest research vessels in the world. The smaller CRV ''Leonardo'', commissioned in 2002, was designed for conducting experiments in shallower waters. In addition to supporting CMRE's scientific mission, the two vessels are chartered to commercial or government organizations within the NATO nations. CMRE has specialised facilities and equipment for research at-sea, including a fleet of AUVs and other unmanned vehicles and instrumentation, linear array assembly facilities, and the Oceanography Calibrating Laboratory, which provides instrument calibration according to the

World Ocean Circulation Experiment The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) was a component of the international World Climate Research Program, and aimed to establish the role of the World Ocean in the Earth's climate system. WOCE's field phase ran between 1990 and 1998, and ...

(WOCE) standard.

Gallery

STO CMRE 1.jpg STO CMRE 2.jpg STO CMRE 3.jpg

References

Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) website

Centre's History 1959-2009

SACLANTCEN Accomplishments 1975-1989

SACLANT ASW Research Centre Accomplishments 1959-1979NATO Science and Technology Organization
{{Authority control NATO agencies