From Seabed to Spectrum: Arturo Ojeda Demaria on the Future of Maritime ISR

From Seabed to Spectrum

Arturo Ojeda Demaria on the Future of Maritime ISR

Arturo offers a global perspective on the evolving ISR landscape, the operational realities of integrating autonomous systems, and why collaboration is becoming one of the sector’s most valuable strategic assets.Contents

Thank you for reading From Seabed to Spectrum: Arturo Ojeda Demaria on the Future of Maritime ISR

As maritime threats become increasingly complex, the race for situational awareness is no longer confined to the surface of the sea. From autonomous underwater vehicles and contested electromagnetic environments to the growing importance of critical infrastructure protection, the future of maritime security is being shaped by how effectively nations can collect, interpret and act on intelligence in real time.

Ahead of Maritime ISR 2026, Defence iQ spoke with Arturo Ojeda Demaria, UXS Specialist in Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance at the United Nations Global Service Centre. Drawing on experience across the Chilean Navy, the private defence sector and the United Nations, Ojeda Demaria offers a global perspective on the evolving ISR landscape, the operational realities of integrating autonomous systems, and why collaboration is becoming one of the sector’s most valuable strategic assets.

In this interview, he explores the growing role of human-machine teaming, the challenge of keeping pace with rapidly evolving technologies, and how international exercises such as REPMUS are helping organisations avoid “reinventing the wheel” in maritime capability development.

Arturo Ojeda Demaria

UXS Specialist, Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance

Technology Development Unit, United Nations Global Service Centre

Arturo Ojeda Demaria, a former Navy Commander, brings experience from the Chilean Navy, private sector, and United Nations, focusing on maritime security, crisis response, and international cooperation. He specialises in addressing emerging threats to undersea infrastructure and coastal resilience, and advancing uncrewed maritime systems for operational use. His participation in the Maritime ISR Conference highlights his commitment to global collaboration and the protection of critical maritime environments.

1. You’ve had a diverse career spanning the Chilean Navy, the private sector, and now the United Nations - how have these experiences shaped your approach to maritime ISR and international cooperation?

Well, it has been a long journey, starting, as you mentioned, in the armed forces, where I initially served in operational roles aboard combat ships and battleships before moving into technical and logistics positions and later working through headquarters. It has been a very rich experience overall.

Afterwards, I worked in the defence sector at MBDA, which gave me a customer service and support perspective. Moving through operational, technical and logistics roles, and then gaining experience from the customer support side, gives you a comprehensive understanding of systems in terms of users, maintenance, and how to exploit them to their maximum capability.

In 2020, I moved to the United Nations. Initially, I worked in peacekeeping, supporting the delivery of the best ICT technologies to peacekeepers, mostly in Africa and Central Asia. We then started cooperating with agencies, funds and programmes including the Office of Counter-Terrorism, the Office on Drugs and Crime, and the World Food Programme.

Working in such a multinational and multicultural environment gives you a much wider perspective on how the world operates and how different challenges can be across regions. Having this experience in mind has been extremely valuable.

In November, I moved to the Office of Counter-Terrorism, where I now work with drones, counter-drone systems, and underwater vehicles, mainly focused on protecting critical infrastructure, increasing situational awareness, and giving member states an operational advantage against adversaries while helping them protect their assets.

This work also involves managing projects throughout the capability lifecycle, from concept development through to disposal, ensuring that the most suitable and fit-for-purpose solutions are selected.

2. How is the role of ISR evolving in supporting the protection of critical maritime infrastructure, particularly in contested or grey-zone environments?

It has been a challenging evolution, especially over the last few years, where we have seen remotely operated vehicles and autonomous systems appearing far more frequently both on the battlefield and in operational environments. This creates increasingly contested and congested environments where situational awareness becomes absolutely critical.

To achieve effective situational awareness, you need sensors, systems, and, of course, well-trained personnel capable of detecting, identifying, discriminating, and understanding how situations are developing.

One major challenge is the use of swarms of systems, which can saturate detection systems and line-of-sight capabilities. These systems are difficult to detect, track and neutralise.

In addition to threats in the air, on the surface, and underwater, operators are also dealing with a highly contested electromagnetic spectrum. To maintain an advantage in this environment, spectrum management becomes essential. This requires robust, modular and well-designed systems that can be updated as technology evolves.

The challenge is that technology moves so quickly that systems can become obsolete very fast. We have already experienced this. Ultimately, organisations want to achieve the best value for money from both technical and logistical perspectives while ensuring personnel in the field are equipped with the best possible systems.

That is the overall picture of how ISR is evolving in these environments.

3. From a UN perspective, how do operational requirements for ISR differ between peacekeeping missions and traditional military operations at sea?

In peacekeeping missions at sea, we currently have one maritime task force operating in Lebanon. I have also had the opportunity to support coast guards around the world. In terms of coast guard and law enforcement operations, the requirements are often very similar when it comes to boarding operations, situational awareness, and supporting the implementation of maritime law.

The main differences are usually related more to the operational environment than whether the mission is peacekeeping or a traditional military operation.

The maritime environment is very different from conditions found in land-based peacekeeping missions in places such as Somalia or the Central African Republic. These environments differ significantly in terms of atmospheric conditions, temperature, geography, topography, and the different groups operating in those areas.

When operating against armed groups or other hostile actors who know the geography extremely well, it becomes critical to carefully select the right systems and technologies in order to gain an advantage.

At the same time, implementing technology effectively also requires standard operating procedures, doctrine and tactics that allow those systems to be used properly and efficiently.

4. How can ISR capabilities be better integrated into decision-making at the tactical edge, rather than remaining concentrated at the strategic level?

ISR systems cannot only be viewed from a strategic perspective; they need to be integrated across the strategic, operational and tactical levels simultaneously.

What we have seen is that, as technology

develops rapidly, there is significant room for improvement in education and training. Technologies such as remotely operated vehicles and autonomous systems are still relatively new for many senior decision-makers at the strategic level.

We therefore need to provide personnel at every level - strategic, operational and tactical - with the tools, knowledge and training required to operate and maintain these systems effectively. They also need to understand the systems’ capabilities, vulnerabilities and limitations.

Every system is different, and integrating a new system into an existing “system of systems” can have significant impacts. For example, integrating a counter-UAS capability onto a ship can affect the vessel’s electromagnetic signature and influence other onboard systems.

Because of this, systems must be thoroughly tested and modelled in advance to understand the operational impact. Once implemented, organisations must develop the appropriate tactics, SOPs and procedures to operate them effectively.

The same principle applies in land environments. When introducing a new system into a peacekeeping mission, electromagnetic testing and systems integration are essential to ensure the technology functions properly within the wider mission architecture.

This is where subject matter experts become extremely valuable. If organisations want to remain at the cutting edge, they need to participate in international forums, technology conferences and other collaborative environments that help identify trends and forecast future developments. This allows organisations to properly plan and design future capability development.

5. What role does human-machine teaming play in the future of maritime ISR, particularly as uncrewed systems become more autonomous?

This is currently a very controversial topic, particularly regarding the level of autonomy that humans are willing to rely upon in operational systems, especially when lethal force is involved.

It is well recognised that artificial intelligence can outperform humans in some areas, such as detecting and discriminating between objects - for example distinguishing between a weapon and a tool. This can be extremely valuable in supporting decision-making.

However, when responsibility is transferred to an autonomous system capable of using lethal force or providing critical operational information, it raises important questions around accountability. Organisations must carefully consider who is responsible for decisions made by autonomous systems and how these decisions could affect operations and political considerations.

This is an area that requires very careful study. The challenge is that technology is advancing so quickly that organisations often

struggle to develop the policies, doctrines and tactics needed to keep pace.

This is why cooperation and collaboration are so important. Within the United Nations, we sometimes look for solutions already available on the market, while in other cases we develop solutions ourselves to support our partners.

The main benefit of this collaboration is the significant saving of time and resources. For example, if another partner organisation is already running a similar programme, we can learn from their experience instead of starting from scratch. This saves time, effort and ultimately money.

At a time when resources are limited, organisations are under pressure to be as cost-effective as possible. That means making an even greater effort to select the right partners and the best systems in order to achieve operational effectiveness while remaining cost-efficient.

6. How can organisations ensure that ISR systems remain adaptable in the face of rapidly shifting threat landscapes and technological change?

The main requirement is having a dedicated group of experts focused on the future -monitoring technological trends and assessing how emerging technologies can either be adapted to the organisation or how the organisation itself may need to adapt.

In many organisations, personnel running operations or supporting teams often have to perform this role alongside their normal duties. While this is not always ideal, it is sometimes necessary due to resource limitations.

Another important factor is dual innovation. Innovation happens across industry, academia, and both the public and private sectors. The goal should be to create synergies and encourage cooperation between all of these areas.

Organisations need to share knowledge, experiences, lessons learned, and insights into emerging trends. In my view, these are some of the key factors that help organisations remain adaptable.

7. Looking at global collaboration, where are you seeing the most effective examples of information-sharing frameworks in maritime ISR today?

One strong example is the integration and operational testing of new remotely operated and autonomous systems through multinational exercises.

A very good example of this is the international REPMUS exercise held annually in Portugal. I had the opportunity to participate last year, and it provides an excellent environment for testing products, sharing information, exchanging lessons learned, and gaining operational experience.

The key objective is to avoid reinventing the wheel. If one of our partners already has a

system that operates effectively and meets our technical and operational requirements, then we can benefit from that experience instead of starting an entirely new programme from scratch - provided, of course, that the technology is not highly classified or restricted.

Exercises and collaborative forums like these are extremely valuable for cooperation and information-sharing.

8. As a speaker at the Maritime ISR Conference 2026, what are you most looking forward to discussing, and why should delegates attend?

I am currently part of the Autonomous and Remotely Operated Systems (AROS) programme within the Office of Counter-Terrorism, where we are active across several areas, particularly projects, training and capacity building.

At the conference, I would like to share our experiences operating remotely operated and autonomous systems across different environments and exercises, including red-team and blue-team scenarios focused on protecting critical infrastructure.

We would also like to showcase some of our new training courses designed to equip partners with knowledge in counter-UAS systems, underwater vehicles and UAVs, while also encouraging discussion around how other organisations are approaching these challenges.

This is one of the key reasons delegates should attend - to identify common challenges, share use cases, and explore opportunities for collaboration and integration in order to strengthen intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

The conference is ultimately an opportunity to discuss how we can collaborate more effectively in the future and explore new opportunities together.

Get Ready for Maritime ISR!

13 - 14 October 2026

Design Hotel, Tróia, Portugal

Join senior military leaders, ISR specialists, technology innovators and maritime operators at the on 13–14 October 2026 at the Design Hotel, Tróia, Portugal.

Held as part of Defence iQ’s Unified Maritime Experience and in association with REPMUS 2026, the conference will examine how nations and allies can strengthen maritime situational awareness across every operational layer - from seabed to space.

Discover the latest developments in maritime ISR, autonomous systems, data reliability, critical infrastructure protection and multinational interoperability while networking with leading experts from across the global maritime defence community.

For more information, visit Maritime ISR Conference 2026.

Agenda Register Speakers