20 February 2026 11:31 UTC · NATO · NATO News · Source · Email X Link

NATO announces two Arctic research missions

Key points

CMRE began two combined Arctic research missions from Tromsø
NREP 24 and ACO 24 will study sonar performance and long-term environmental conditions

TL;DR

CMRE teams arrived in Tromsø on 5 June 2024 to begin NREP 24 and ACO 24 research missions from 8 June to 12 July 2024.
NREP 24 will study sound propagation and sonar performance at the Barents Sea Polar front; ACO 24 will collect long-term environmental data including marine biology and water movements.
Missions are led by CMRE and funded/partnered by NATO bodies and institutions from France, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Italy.

Original text

Create an account Reset password Already have an account? Log in From now on you can download videos from our website If you would also like to subscribe to the newsletter and receive our latest updates, click on the button below. Enter the email address you registered with and we will send you a code to reset your password. The password must be at least 12 characters long, no spaces, include upper/lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. Click the button to return to the page you were on and log in with your new password. 06 June 2024 2 MIN READ Scientists and engineers from the NATO Science and Technology Organisation’s Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) arrived at the Norwegian port of Tromsø on Wednesday (5 June 2024) to begin two combined research missions that will assess the impact of climate change in the Arctic. The results of their studies will help NATO adapt to global warming and Arctic environmental transformation. On board the NATO research ship NRV Alliance , scientists will measure how the transformation of the Arctic affects sonar performance in the region. The data collected will help adapt the technology for submarines, uncrewed underwater vehicles and other capabilities operating in fast-changing Arctic ocean conditions. For the first time ever, the area of research will be the Barents Sea Polar front, a region where Atlantic and Arctic water masses meet but do not mix. With the research mission NREP 24 (Nordic Recognized Environmental Picture), scientists will focus on changes in sound propagation in the central Barents Sea. Another research mission, the ACO 24 (Arctic Climate Observatory) will collect of data related to long-term environmental conditions in the area, including marine biology, water movements and the soundscape. The missions be conducted from 8 June to 12 July 2024. NREP 24 is a project funded by NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT) with the participation of partner institutions from France, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. ACO24 is funded by the NATO Science and Technology Organisation (STO) - Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) and will have partners from France, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Both research missions will be led by the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation. CMRE and partner staff on board NRV Alliance will be supported by a reach-back team working from various research institutions in Allied countries, performing analysis and processing of data. NREP 24 is the latest iteration of a multi-year oceanographic research project that started in 2017 and has been conducted in different parts of the Arctic Ocean. ACO 24 is the second iteration of a study launched in 2023 as a long-term oceanographic research project. The Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation is an executive body of the NATO Science and Technology Organisation. The Centre organises and conducts scientific research and technology development and delivers innovative and field-tested solutions to address defence and security needs of the Alliance, with a focus on the maritime domain. Link was copied to clipboard

Key tags

Topics

Keywords

Stats

Word count: 512

Summary words: 103

Compression: 20%

Boilerplate removed: Yes

Top phrases:

Entities

People

None found.

NATO announces two Arctic research missions

Key points

TL;DR

Key tags

Topics

Keywords

Stats

People

Organizations

Places

Countries

Regions