In a significant step towards enhancing Allied defence and technological integration across the air, space and cyber domains, Defence Ministers from 24 NATO Allies* signed a series of ground-breaking multinational initiatives at the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum.
The Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS) programme marks the largest multinational investment in space-based capabilities in NATO's history. APSS is set to boost the Alliance's ability to monitor activities on the ground and at sea with unprecedented accuracy and timeliness. With the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, APSS has now transitioned into the implementation phase in which over the next five years, 17 Allies are contributing the equivalent of more than 1 billion USD to leverage commercial and national space assets, and to expand advanced exploitation capacities.
With the signing of the Letter of Intent for the Allied software for Cloud and Edge (ACE) services by 22 Allies, a new multinational acquisition activity will revolutionize Allied operations by providing key building blocks of the Alliance-wide Digital Backbone. By integrating allied software solutions with cutting-edge cloud and edge computing technologies, ACE will improve operational efficiency by ensuring unified communications and enabling seamless sharing of data across land, air, maritime, space, and cyberspace domains of operation.
Meanwhile, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden signed a Declaration of Cooperation on Cross-Border Airspace. This Declaration will ensure that Allied civil and military authorities are able to establish and use more airspace from the five participating countries for NATO training and exercises, and other air activities within the Nordic region. NATO's ability to train at scale in the air domain represents a critical element of the Alliance collective deterrence and defence posture. The use of larger volumes of national airspace by NATO requires close coordination and cooperation between civil and military authorities to deliver airspace solutions in a safe and flexible manner.
* Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United States
