Adoption of the Scout by Dutch Navy!

On June 24, during the 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, we signed a launching customer contract with the Dutch Ministry of Defence. A major milestone for us, and one we’re extremely proud of. Together, we will develop a military version of our underwater drone.

Celebrating the start of a close collaboration between Lobster Robotics and the Dutch Ministry of Defence.

From NATO DIANA to a defence launching customer

Our journey started in 2023, when Lobster Robotics applied to the NATO DIANA programme. Out of more than 1,300 applications across 19 countries, we were selected alongside 43 other companies, for the first phase of the accelerator.

Later, we were among the 10 companies advancing to Phase 2, receiving additional funding, intensive coaching, and support with scaling and market entry. This stage allowed us to work closely with the Dutch national chapter of NATO, and to lay the groundwork for true dual-use deployment.

A launching customer: the Royal Netherlands Navy

That groundwork has now led to a launching customer agreement with the Royal Dutch Navy. The collaboration revolves around applying the civil version of the Scout (which our company has developed to date) in a military context, iterate, improve, repeat, and work towards a military grade system together as partners.

We’re excited about this partnership, not just because it opens the door to the defence market, but because it allows us to build solutions together, working closely with end users, the maintenance and support organization, and learning from their feedback to mature the capability together.

Rapid adoption across NATO allies will be achieved by allowing observers from the other member states during the experimentation period.

Part of NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan (RAAP)

This partnership is supported by NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan (RAAP), an initiative designed to bring cutting-edge technology to operational readiness faster than ever. We’re proud that the Scout is among the first systems selected under this program and we’re ready to grow with the Dutch Ministry of Defence as our first defence customer.

“This is rapid adoption in action. We’re setting the example on how the dual-use technology ecosystem within NATO can be nurtured into the next-gen capabilities that give the Alliance the competitive edge”

— Stephan Rutten, CEO of Lobster Robotics