Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation

Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE)
	CMRE logo
Abbreviation	CMRE
Formation	1959
Type	Military research
Legal status	Treaty
Purpose	Maritime security
Headquarters	La Spezia, Italy
Region served	28 nations in Europe and North America
Members	NATO
Official language	English and French
Director	Dr. Eric Pouliquen
Parent organization	NATO Science and Technology Organization
Staff	about 140
Website	Official website

Previously known as NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC), the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) is a scientific research and experimentation NATO 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).^[2] It was established in 1959.^[3]

Research areas

CMRE conducts projects in the following major research areas:

Littoral intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
Autonomous surveillance
Port and ship protection
Maritime situational awareness
Robotic/Intelligent preparation of the battlespace
Active sonar risk mitigation

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.^[4] 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. ^[5]

Facilities

CMRE has two ships for conducting NATO research: the NATO Research Vessel (NRV) Alliance and the Coastal Research Vessel (CRV) Leonardo.^[6] 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,^[7] 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 (WOCE) standard.