NATO achieves
first step on theatre ballistic missile defence capability
On 27 January 2011, NATO’s
first ever theatre ballistic missile defence (TBMD) capability has been handed
over to NATO’s military commanders. The handover took place at the NATO Combined
Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Uedem,
Germany, in the
presence of NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, and
civil and military authorities from NATO and host nation
Germany. The NATO Combined Air Operations Centre
demonstrated how this interim capability allows NATO commanders, for the first
time ever, to do limited ballistic missile defence planning and exchange
information with national ballistic missile defence
assets.
“The handover of this interim capability marks an important step in
NATO’s missile defence efforts,” said Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero. “In line
with the NATO Lisbon Summit decision, this capability will be further expanded
to form the cornerstone of a future missile defence system for the protection of
territory and populations.”
“NATO commanders now have
for the first time an initial, limited but integrated ability to manage a
defence battle to protect deployed forces against ballistic missile attacks,”
said Brigadier General Alessandro Pera, Head of the Active Layered Theatre
Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) Programme Office. During a short ceremony, he handed over
the capability to Major General Mark F. Ramsay, Deputy Chief of Staff Operations
& Intelligence, representing the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) as
the operational user of the capability.
A rigorous ‘ensemble’ test, held from 6 to 10
December 2010 at the
Integration Test Bed hosted at the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency
(NC3A) facilities in The
Hague,
verified the ability of the NATO Command and Control system to connect and
direct a multinational coalition of weapon and sensor systems in a missile
defence battle.
“This interim capability meets a first batch of military requirements and
was delivered in time and within the budget envelope. It is a good example of phased programme
implementation under the auspices of the Conference of National Armaments
Directors (CNAD), combining NATO and national assets in a common architecture”
said Patrick Auroy, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment and
Chairman of the CNAD.
A Field Test followed immediately after the Ensemble Test at the
capability’s first deployed location, the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in
Uedem,
Germany. These
two tests were the last in a series of tests of this interim capability, which
also included ‘live fire’ tests off the coast of Crete,
Greece in
2009. “The performance of the capability met its military requirements,” added
General Alessandro Pera.
Weapon
and sensor systems from five Allies – France,
Germany,
Italy, the
Netherlands and the
United
States - took
part in the Ensemble Test, along with the NATO operators who will be using the
capability.
This is an example of successful collaboration under the ALTBMD Programme
Office, involving Allies, NATO military commanders, NATO Agencies such as NC3A
and NACMA (NATO Air Command and Control System Management Agency), and the
industry.
Under the ALTBMD Programme, NATO provides a command and control system
that links sensors and interceptors from Nations into a capability that can
protect deployed forces from ballistic missile
attacks.
The ALTBMD Programme Office will continue to upgrade the NATO Command and
Control System for Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence in incremental steps from
2013 to 2018, to field a more robust Final Operational Capability. In line with the Lisbon Summit decision
of November 2010, the ALTBMD capability will also be expanded to protect not
just deployed forces, but NATO European territories and populations as
well.