JAPCC initiated a comprehensive project ‘Air and Space Power in NATO – Future Vector’. This project intends to chart a future path with viable options and solutions to guarantee that Joint Air and Space Power continues to contribute to the security and success of NATO and its nations.
Fiscal constraints, reduced manning, evolving focus of effort, operational misalignment, fleeting relevance, and a challenging strategic environment are just a few of the significant forces which united and demanded JAPCC to rethink, refocus and regroup.
The aim of this publication is three fold: to educate the reader in the current status of NATO’s AAR capability; to explain, in detail, the areas of concern; and to inform the reader of solutions to address these concerns.
The purpose of this Capstone Document is to inform the members of the JAPCC, NATO organizations, SNs, contemporary organizations, academia and to whom it may concern about the ‘raison d’être’ of the JAPCC.
Currently, NATO lacks a common understanding or consistent use of the term ‘NATO Space Operations’. Today, discussions about NATO Space Operations are commonly reduced to purely focusing on the Space segment and often neglect the ground, user and link segments.
It’s my pleasure to open the 18th JAPCC Journal. First of all I would like to welcome our new Director, General Frank Gorenc. We are delighted to have him as our new boss. I am also very pleased with the interview from our former Director, General Breedlove, since May the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. The use of armed Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) in operations has already led to heated and intensive discussions. Dr. Mark R. Jacobson stresses that NATO has to begin both informal and formal discussions over what role these RPA (erroneously called ‘drones’) may play in Alliance operations.
I am delighted to introduce the 17th edition of the JAPCC Journal which contains two specific articles that expand on the Pooling and Sharing issues I raise above (page 54 and 74); I urge you to read them. But we start this edition with an interview with Major General Finn Kristian Hannestad, Chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (page 6); who says that Norway’s unique situation allows it to continue investing in future technologies, such as the F-35A.
2012 could well be entitled ‘The Year of Challenges’ for the Joint Air Power Competence Centre (JAPCC). The JAPCC faced some difficulties in accomplishing its mission to be the Air and Space Power Transformation Agent for the Alliance and its Sponsoring Nations. Despite these challenges, the Centre of Excellence (CoE) finalised a number of projects and continued its strong Air and Space (A&S) Power Subject Matter Expert (SME) representation across NATO as members of committees, panels and working groups.
NATO has been contributing military forces, mostly warships, to the Counter-Piracy (CP) mission off the Horn of Africa (HoA) since October 2008. Commanders at sea have made several strong appeals for more Air and Space (A&S) assets, namely, Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), Airborne Warning and Command System (AWACS) and UAS Systems stating that A&S assets are required to ensure rapid reaction capabilities and to enhance situational awareness. A limited number of assets have been operating under the European Union (EU) Flag (Operation ATALANTA), and the US-led Combined Maritime Force (CMF).
To overcome current limitations of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), more and more automatic functions have been and will be implemented in current and future UAS systems. In the civil arena, the use of highly automated robotic systems is already quite common, e.g. in the manufacturing sector. But what is commonly accepted in the civilian community may be a significant challenge when applied to military weapon systems.