During their summit in Washington, DC, this week, NATO member states committed more than $1 billion to improve the sharing of intelligence from national and commercial reconnaissance satellites.<\/p>\n
The agreement is a further step toward integrating space assets into NATO military commands. It follows the bloc\u2019s adoption of an official space policy in 2019, which recognized space as a fifth war-fighting domain alongside air, land, maritime, and cyberspace. The next step was the formation of the NATO Space Operations Center in 2020 to oversee space support for NATO military operations.<\/p>\n
On June 25, NATO announced the establishment of a \u201cspace branch\u201d in its Allied Command Transformation, which identifies trends and incorporates emerging capabilities into the alliance\u2019s security strategy.<\/p>\n
The new intelligence-sharing agreement was signed on July 9 by representatives from 17 NATO nations, including the United States, to support the Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS) program. In a statement, NATO called the agreement \u201cthe largest multinational investment in space-based capabilities in NATO\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n
The agreement for open sharing of intelligence data comes against the backdrop of NATO\u2019s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Space-based capabilities, including battlefield surveillance and communications, have proven crucial to both sides in the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ongoing war in Ukraine has further underscored intelligence\u2019s growing dependence on space-based data and assets,\u201d NATO said.<\/p>\n
The program will improve NATO\u2019s ability to monitor activities on the ground and at sea with unprecedented accuracy and timeliness, the alliance said in a statement. The 17 parties to the agreement pledged more than $1 billion to transition the program into an implementation phase over the next five years. Six of the 17 signatories currently operate or plan to launch their own national reconnaissance satellites, while several more nations are home to companies operating commercial space-based surveillance satellites.<\/p>\n
,<\/p>\n
The APSS program won\u2019t involve the development and launch of any NATO spy satellites. Instead, each nation will make efforts to share observations from their own government and commercial satellites.<\/p>\n
Luxembourg, one of the smallest NATO member states, set up the APSS program with an initial investment of roughly $18 million (16.5 million euros) in 2023. At the time, NATO called the program a \u201cdata-centric initiative\u201d aimed at bringing together intelligence information for easier dissemination among allies and breaking down barriers of secrecy and bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAPSS is not about creating NATO-owned and operated space assets,\u201d officials wrote in the program\u2019s fact sheet. \u201cIt will make use of existing and future space assets in allied countries, and connect them together in a NATO virtual constellation called \u2018Aquila.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Another element of the program involves processing and sharing intelligence information through cloud solutions and technologies. NATO said AI analytical tools will also better manage growing amounts of surveillance data from space and ensure decision-makers get faster access to time-sensitive observations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe APSS initiative may be regarded as a game changer for NATO\u2019s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. It will largely contribute to build NATO\u2019s readiness and reduce its dependency on other intelligence and surveillance capabilities,\u201d said Ludwig Decamps, general manager of the NATO Communications and Information Agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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