Estonia and the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) recently signed an agreement that will see closer cooperation in the development of ‘plug and play’ intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and command and control capabilities.
The May 11 agreement paves the way for cooperation between Estonia and the Agency in C4ISR and network-enabled capabilities.
Specific projects will now be established, but areas of interest include: air command and control systems, including the Integrated Command and Control capability (ICC), maritime situational awareness, validation and verification of interoperability.
“We are in essence looking at a shift of paradigm, said NC3A General Manager Georges D’hollander of Belgium. “Traditionally, we have worked on developing capabilities nationally and then worked–and paid–again at the alliance level to make them interoperable. Now we are seeking to engage Nations in a direct, comprehensive approach that will deliver capabilities that are ‘born interoperable’. After all–as national budgets come under pressure–nations only want to pay once for capabilities that will work with their NATO partners and protect the safety of their troops.”
Estonian Defence Minister Jaak Aaviksoo said the memorandum serves to further develop the defence forces’ communications and intelligence gathering systems, which are among the priorities of the Long Term Defence Development Plan for 2009-2018.
“To make proper and adequate decisions on a modern battlefield, our national defence capability must on the one hand encompass necessary intelligence capabilities as well as modern communications equipment to transfer information to the executors of decisions,” Aaviksoo said.
With the agreement, Estonia acquired a competent partner with extensive experience who can provide it with the required systems or grant consulting services to Estonia when making related procurement decisions, he said.
Other nations with NC3A agreements include France, Bulgaria, Finland, Italy, Norway and Sweden, with several other nations finalizing such memoranda.