# Scheveningen sea-drone test centre can expand with EU money

> The European Commission has named SeaSEC, a Scheveningen test centre for naval drones, as one of the first two European drone technology hubs. That opens the way to a substantial expansion.

Politics · published 2026-10-30 05:33 · https://nlnow.nl/a/scheveningen-sea-drone-test-lab-to-expand-with-eu-money/

SeaSEC, a test centre in Scheveningen for naval drones, can expand substantially with European money. The European Commission named it on Thursday as a pilot project for a network of drone technology hubs, alongside a Latvian lab that focuses on air and land drones.

The hub network is one of five priorities for which Brussels has set aside a total of €325m.

SeaSEC started three years ago, when it became increasingly clear that the North Sea, with its crucial cables and pipelines, needed better protection. The testing ground has ten by ten nautical miles of North Sea water for experiments with unmanned vessels and sensors.

Commander of the Armed Forces Onno Eichelsheim, who announced the news, said the EU money means the centre can "experiment much more". "Investments were limited so far, but a substantial volume is coming," he said.

Eichelsheim said this should help bring the speed of innovation seen in Ukraine into practice in Europe.

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