Pool testing on HYDRA continues at DRASS, with former Special Forces Operator Marco Spaziano (Operational Leader for Unmanned Vehicles) and Luca Biasci (Electronic & Automation Engineer and Technical Diver) facilitating in-water activities alongside colleagues Sandro Toschi, Lorenzo Ferrara, Daniele Bonsignori, and Lorenzo Franchini.

HYDRA, a modular platform developed by DRASS for scientific and operational applications, is designed for progressive testing, platform optimisation, and future integration activities.

Recent exercises have focused on verification and performance tuning, including assessing stability, monitoring energy behaviour, validating communications, and preparing for advanced payload configurations.

Periodic pool exercises like these enable repeatable evaluation and close observation — isolating variables, refining platform behaviour, and building a structured dataset for future design decisions ahead of open-water deployment.

As activities progress, HYDRA is demonstrating its value as a flexible platform for research, validation, and ongoing technological development.