- Air Leadership Education and Training
C5 ISR & Space
Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Space – C5ISR&S are key enablers for Air Power and its integration with the other domains. This combination of information-driven C2 encompasses all air activities and provides seamless integration of information across all domains to gain a shared understanding of the operational environment in support of decision-making while securing the network from attack or compromise. C5ISR&S’s relevance and criticality are only increasing as NATO embraces the concept of Multi-Domain Operations to deliver Air Power integrated and synchronized with other military and non-military instruments of power. To that end, C5ISR&S Branch embraces a large diversity of competencies thanks to a multinational team of SMEs constantly supporting NATO’s future force and capability development; this includes NATO’s newest operational domains, Cyberspace and Space.
Colonel
Gianluca
Chiriatti
Joint Air Power Competence Centre
Colonel Gianluca Chiriatti joined the Italian Air Force in 1990 as cadet of the Air Force Academy, where he graduated in 1994 obtaining a degree in Aeronautical Sciences from Federico II University, Naples.
He served as operational pilot on AM-X fighter-bomber, to include combat operations on Former-Yugoslavia and Kosovo, and OCU operational instructor on AM-X/XT at Amendola AB, Italy; as flight Instructor/Evaluator on T-38A in ENJJPT, Sheppard AB; and captain on P-72A, Maritime Patrol and ISR at Sigonella AB.
Staff Officer experience includes ITAF Air Staff Logistic Department, working on F-35 program and later on RPAS/GBAD/CUAS office as deputy-Head – working on MQ-1/9 and AGS programs; JSF/F-35 Program Office in Arlington, Virginia, as Assistant National Deputy; ITAF Operational Command HQ, Head of Weapon Systems Support Office.
Command experience includes 101st AM-X/XT OCU Squadron Commander; Director of the Italian RPAS CoE, Amendola AB; Commander of the Italian National Contingent Command Air, Kuwait, for Operation Inherent Resolve, operating AM-X, MQ-9A, KC-767 and C-27J and associated Intel Unit; Commander of 41st Wing and EUNAVFORMED Sophia/Irini FOB, Sigonella AB.
He is command pilot with over 3.000 flying hours, mostly on AM-X/XT, T-38A and P-72A.
Information provided is current as of November 2024
Featured Publications
High Above the High North
Resilient Satellite Communications for the Arctic
By Maj
Lucas J.
Stensberg
‘I believe that in the future, whoever holds Alaska will hold the world.’ Billy Mitchell, US military aviation pioneer Alaska may appear isolated on a map, but it is actually the closest US state to [...]
Navigating the Digital Battlefield
Understanding Cyber Electromagnetic Activities in Warfare
By Lt Col
Athanasios
Sdrakas
On the modern battlefield, military forces face a complex environment where success depends on controlling geographic domains such as land, air, sea, and space while exploiting non-physical operational areas like cyberspace, the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS), [...]
Navigating the Realm of Artificial Intelligence in AirC2, Education, Training, Exercise, and Evaluation
By Lt Col
Mark
Meeuwissen
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not new in the military context. Often, however, AI is misunderstood as software able to create autonomous weapons systems (aircraft, robots, decision-making tools, etc.). Both the civilian and military realms have [...]
Subject Matter Experts
Colonel
Antonios Chochtoulas
Subject Matter Expert
Cyberspace Operations
Colonel Chochtoulas graduated from the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) Academy in 1999, with a degree in Logistics. He holds a Master of Science in Computer Science from the Hellenic Open University and his subject matter expertise is in the Areas of Information Systems Security and Database Design and Administration. He...
Major
Patrick Giesenfeld
Subject Matter Expert
Command & Control and Air Battle Management
Major Giesenfeld joined the German Armed Forces in October 2007, serving first in the army and since 2009 in the air force. He completed his officers training course in 2011. Following this he was transferred to the Tactical Air Command and Control Squadron (TACCS) 21 in Erndtebrück, where he acquired...
Lieutenant Colonel
Gwendolyn Kamp-Bakx
Subject Matter Expert
Air Leadership Education and Training
Lieutenant Colonel (Gwendolyn) Kamp-Bakx joined the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) in August 1990. She studied Organizational Management & Weapon Systems at the Royal Military Academy and graduated Flight School (helicopters) in 1996. She has flown Alouette III, BO-105, and CH-47 up till deputy flight commander and flight commander. She...
Major
Brian Ladd
Subject Matter Expert
Space
Major Brian Ladd graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in History and received his commission by AFROTC. His first tour was at the 4th Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB in Colorado Springs, CO, where he was a Satellite Operator of the MILSTAR communications...
Lieutenant Colonel
Nakul Nayyar
Subject Matter Expert
Cyberspace Operations
Lieutenant Colonel Nakul Nayyar joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 2004 as a Communications and Electronics Engineer. He most recently served as the Canadian Communications & Electronics Defense Attaché in Washington, D.C. (2020–2024). In this role, he was responsible to provide expertise, assistance and advice in the information and...
Major
Lucas Stensberg
Subject Matter Expert
Cyberspace Operations, Space
Major Stensberg leads space & cyber integration as a SME in the JAPCC’s C5ISR & Space branch, furthering the Alliance’s understanding of the two domains via concept development, exercises, wargames, doctrine, and working groups. Before this role, he served in a talent management role, and prior to that as a...
Commandant
Peter Vanderostyne
Subject Matter Expert
Air Operations Planning
Commandant Peter Vanderostyne graduated from the Royal Military Academy Brussels in 1992 with a Master in Military and Aeronautical Science. In the same year, he joined the Control & Reporting Centre (CRC) in Glons where he became Fighter Controller, Electronic Warfare specialist, Identification Officer and Track Production Officer. After he...
Lieutenant Colonel
Jürgen Welsch
Subject Matter Expert
Command & Control and Air Battle Management
Lieutenant Colonel Juergen Welsch joined the German Air Force in 1984. In 1990 he gained a Bachelor Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the Hochschule der Bundeswehr Muenchen. From 1990 on, Lieutenant Colonel Welsch worked in multiple operational- and staff positions within the field of AIRC2. In 2003, he switched to...
