24 July 2017. It is our great pleasure to present the 24th Edition of the JAPCC Journal. A prominent theme permeating this journal is the significance of the Joint Strike Fighter arriving in many NATO Allies’ national forces. Starting off, Major General Max A. L. T. Nielsen, the Danish Air Chief, provides us his perspective on the unprecedented potential of the F-35 and the challenge of developing Tactics, Techniques & Procedures to fully exploit its 5th generation capabilities in a system of systems with 4th generation aircraft that will remain widely in service. This is a capability that is going to truly transform the way NATO air power is employed across all domains including space and via cyber. More

12 April 2017. The aim of this project is to provide an independent analysis of how the operating battlefield environment of 2035 and beyond could shape the Rotorcraft capability in support of NATO operations. More

27 January 2017. It is our great pleasure to present you the 23rd Edition of the JAPCC Journal. Themes that permeated the JAPCC’s program of work throughout 2016 include: challenges posed by contemporary and prospective threat environments, the future role of air and space power, and the requirements for developing modern, efficient, interoperable capabilities to include the associated education and training. This range of issues is well reflected in the broad selection of essays provided by external and internal subject matter experts for this Journal issue. More

12 January 2017. This AT Assessment is an analysis of the most current programmes for AT training, standardization and interoperability and examines the appropriate range of AT training, from initial to advanced, that the Nations are currently supporting collectively. This study provides a practical example of how to implement the Smart Defence and / or Pooling & Sharing concepts through common AT training initiatives ­under the NATO / EU umbrella which could fill existing gaps and serve as a cornerstone for NATO AT standardization and interoperability improvement while avoiding duplication of effort. More

12 January 2017. The number of unmanned systems in NATO nations’ military inventories has grown rapidly and is still increasing throughout all domains. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) currently represent the largest share of those systems. At the same time, the level of automation built into these unmanned systems has not only increased significantly, but has also reached a level of sophistication at which they are seemingly capable of performing many tasks ‘autonomously’ and with no necessity for direct human supervision. This study discusses the potential consequences and responsibilities if automated functions violate international law or cause unintended harm. More

The Joint Air Power Competence Centre (JAPCC) was formed on 1 January 2005 to provide the strategic level pro­­ponent for Joint Air and Space (A&S) Power that was missing in NATO. Soon thereafter, JAPCC was accredited as NATO’s first Centre of Excellence (COE) and, as such, is charged with the development of innovative concepts and solutions required for the transformation of A&S Power within the Alliance and the Nations.

Based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the JAPCC is sponsored by 16 NATO nations who provide a variety of experienced Subject Matter Experts (SME) that come from all three services. Through its multi-discipline organization, the JAPCC chooses the most suitable SMEs for the task and combines their knowledge and exper­ience to fully contri­bute to transforming NATO’s A&S Power. More importantly, since the JAPCC is not constrained by the need for full consensus or by political expediency, it can offer the best military advice across the spectrum of A&S Power to NATO HQs and national policy making bodies.

Our primary customers are NATO Headquarters (Allied Command Operations, Allied Command Transformation, NATO Joint Commands and Air Command) and sponsoring nations. However, the JAPCC does accept Requests for Support (RfS) from other sources via our RfS form, which can be accessed through the JAPCC website. With num­er­ous successful products and ever increas­ing con­­nec­tions with industry and academia, the JAPCC continues to build upon its reputation as NATO’s pre-eminent ad­vocate for the development and enhancement of Joint A&S Power.

A&S Power SMEs, drawn from the Land, Maritime and Air components of the 16 MoU nations, conduct collaborative research into areas in which JAPCC assistance is requested by leveraging their independent thought and a global network of experts that reach across the military, ­aca­­demic and industrial spheres. The resulting analysis and solutions are disseminated via studies, reports, journal articles, seminars, panels and conferences.