NATO signs contract for enhanced 2010 theatre missile defence capability

The NATO Active Layered Theatre Ballistic Missile Defence (ALTBMD) programme has taken a significant step toward providing NATO commanders with an enhanced capability to plan and direct tactical ballistic missile defence operations to protect deployed forces this year.

On 18 June, ALTBMD Programme Manager Alessandro Pera signed two contracts; one with Team SAIC and one with Thales Raytheon Systems, and initiated work within the NATO C3 Agency to field by the end of the year a capability to provide real time missile defence situational awareness to a NATO air defence commander.

In addition to providing for the first time a real time picture of missile defence operations, the Interim Capability (InCa) step 2 will enhance the current InCa Step 1 by providing NATO commanders with the ability to rapidly coordinate defences, and enhance his planning capability.

The capability will be available to NATO Commanders by the end of 2010, and the design will be tested for the first time in July in the Joint Project Optic Windmill exercise held at the Royal Netherlands Air Force Base De Peel.

'With the active support of SHAPE the contract effort was put in place in a very short time, which shows the commitment and efficiency of the entire team to expeditiously increase the command & control capability of the NATO military organisation,’ said Pera.

'It is a good example of cooperation and synergy between NATO bodies in charge of operations and Command, Control Communication and Information systems, namely SHAPE, NC3A, NACMA and ALTBMD Programme Office, with industrial teams to equip NATO forces with state of the art systems,’ he added.

InCa is an integrated deployable asset which makes use of elements of the NATO Air Command and Control Systems (ACCS) Software developed by NACMA and is its first operational use. It will be available for use where and when necessary to support NATO operations.

Source: NATO C3 Agency