ISR
the Nato secure environment.” At present, the NCI Agency is going the final tactical mile to help connect the AGS core to that wider Nato environment. “The idea is that the AGS core isn’t just an island of information and we start letting that crucial information flow all over the Nato network and into the nations,” Roper says. While the AGS is a fantastic asset – the “jewel in the crown” as Roper puts it – it’s not the answer to all Nato’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) needs. The AGS core, which is owned and operated by Nato, needs to be buttressed by vital contributions from the nations, with everything connected in a secure and robust way. A recent workshop at the NCI Academy in Oeiras, Portugal, saw representatives from the nations, command structure and industries get together to begin a discussion on what this information flow will look like. “How do we move all this important data in and out of the AGS core, how do we use it, have we got the systems, standards and protocols in place to ensure everybody can access it and can use it in an appropriate manner? It’s a pretty thorny exam question,” Roper admits. “The next big step is to realise those final bits of detail.”
Fully operational
Reaching IOC has required a massive team effort, not just from Nato HQ and the NCI Agency. “Before we flew our first mission, this unit had no experience with doing any piece of full spectrum ISR,” says Brigadier General Houston R Cantwell, commander of the Nato AGS Force (NAGSF), who is in charge of the operational side of things. “We came here together with a vision but getting the team together, getting everyone the appropriate training and getting everyone to understand where they fit in the big team, we’ve had to take it one step at a time.”
At the same time, the Nato AGS Management Agency (NAGSMA) – set up to procure all the capabilities needed for the system – was working tirelessly in the background, while the Italian Aviation Administration was going back and forth with Northrop Grumman to figure out the required paperwork and authorisations to declare the system airworthy. The AGS aims to reach full operating capability by 2024, which means the system will be able to cover any threat or any area of interest and sustain operations for days at a time, taking hundreds of SAR pictures in a single mission, at day or night and in any weather conditions, and covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometres with GMTI radar. On top of getting the security and connections right, there are three other key steps that needs to be taken to reach full operating capability, according to Cantwell. First, they need to take ownership of
their final infrastructure, a brand-new HQ facility being built near the current temporary facilities, which will house hundreds of people.
The AGS will enable information and intelligence to be shared among all Nato nations.
“We have some tactical mobile ground stations, which will eventually have the ability to deploy to other HQ units and provide direct ISR support to those HQ units.”
Brigadier General Houston R Cantwell
This in turn will allow the team to bring in the people needed to surge operations for up to a full month of flying operations. And finally, they need to reach deployment capability. “We have some tactical mobile ground stations, which will eventually have the ability to deploy to other HQ units and provide direct ISR support to those HQ units,” Cantwell explains. “We need to be able to prove that capability within the next year or two.” The NCI Agency will continue to work on building an AGS that is not just an island in itself, but an ISR hub. Ultimately, data will be provided both from the AGS platform itself and from other nations who can contribute complementary ISR data to the Nato mission. “It’s very easy for me to describe but it’s very complicated to do,” Roper says. “It’s quite a delicate ballet of information in, and reports and meaningful analysis out in a timely manner – and to the right level of detail for the respective requestor. This information could be very valuable if it found its way into the wrong hands, while the intrusion and disruption of this capability in an operational context could also be very damaging. It’s critical that we ensure this system is resilient to both electronic warfare and cyberintrusion and attack.” ●
Defence & Security Systems International /
www.defence-and-security.com
15 Nato 41
Nato allies that are acquiring the AGS platform – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the US.
NCI Agency
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