MARSS Expands NiDAR with Autonomous Unmanned Systems Management to Accelerate Decision Making.

At the DSEI 2025 exhibition, held in London from 9 to 12 September, the British company Marine and Remote Sensing Solutions (MARSS) unveiled an evolution of its NiDAR command-and-control platform. Called Autonomous Mission Management (AMM), it introduces a new capability for autonomous management of missions involving unmanned ground, maritime, and aerial systems. MARSS presents AMM as an addition designed to enable fully autonomous missions while keeping final decision-making authority with human operators.
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One of the points emphasized by MARSS is the possibility of delegating platform control to the system itself. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The demonstration in London illustrated this approach. MARSS worked with Milrem Robotics and EOS to highlight the integration of a THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle equipped with an EOS R150 remote weapon station. Integrated into the NiDAR environment, this system demonstrated the platform’s ability to collect and fuse video feeds and sensor data from mobile assets with those from static sensors already connected to the network. The result was an enriched operational map capable of automatically locating threats and incidents in real time, reducing the need for lengthy manual verification.

One of the points emphasized by MARSS is the possibility of delegating platform control to the system itself. Instead of continuously operating a drone or vehicle, an operator can now instruct a ground asset to move to a suspected area with a single command, leaving the system to carry out the task autonomously. This frees the operator to focus on other priorities requiring human judgment. Unmanned aerial, surface, and ground systems can therefore act as mobile sensor relays, capable of conducting surveillance or investigation missions with minimal supervision.

NiDAR was initially applied in the Middle East, mainly to protect naval bases and sensitive infrastructure. Today, however, MARSS seeks to expand the scale of the system. A project called Nation Shield aims to adapt the model to larger operational sectors, enabling the distribution of a common situational picture across different command levels. According to Robbie Draper, MARSS regional director, this development addresses a growing need: to give strategic, operational, and tactical echelons access to the same operational overview, allowing faster and more coordinated decision-making. He explained that such an approach supports a “forward leaning” posture, where anticipation takes precedence over reaction.

Artificial intelligence plays a central role in this development. Integrated into NiDAR, AMM is presented as an advanced automation tool that goes beyond simply displaying data and video feeds. It enables active and proactive mission management, reducing dependence on human intervention while preserving necessary oversight for operational engagement. Tom Barton, reporting from DSEI for Janes, noted that although this capability is largely invisible within the standard interface, it opens the way for missions to be conducted with a much higher degree of autonomy, whereas previous command systems were more directly operator-driven.

The strategy pursued by MARSS reflects a broader trend within the defense sector: the push to more deeply integrate autonomous systems into unified command-and-control architectures. The aim is to move beyond isolated systems to provide an agnostic framework capable of incorporating a wide variety of sensors and platforms, depending on specific customer requirements. This modularity is particularly relevant for armed forces and security operators seeking to establish layered defenses spanning air, land, maritime, and subsurface domains.

The unveiling of Autonomous Mission Management at DSEI 2025 highlights MARSS’s effort to move NiDAR beyond conventional surveillance. By combining artificial intelligence, autonomous management, and centralized visualization, the company aims to deliver a tool that supports faster coordination and enhanced situational awareness, both of which are increasingly important in complex operational environments.