NATO has signed a contract with an industry consortium comprising Thales and Leonardo for a new generation of deployable Command and Control (C2) systems for the alliance's special operations forces. The systems are designed to strengthen the ability to establish secure and resilient communications for deployed units and to improve interoperability between allies.
According to a press release from the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), the contract covers the delivery of six Deployable Points of Presence (DPOP SOCC) to NATO Special Operations Forces Command (SOFCOM). The delivery also includes training, maintenance, and lifecycle support for the systems.
The project is being carried out by NCIA in cooperation with SOFCOM and the Thales-Leonardo industry consortium.
The systems are designed to be rapidly deployed and scaled according to mission requirements, from smaller forward elements to deployed headquarters. They will also support NATO Federated Mission Networking (FMN), enabling secure information sharing, a common operational picture, and coordinated command between allied units.
A press release from Thales describes the project as the first part of a larger NATO programme to modernise C2 systems for special operations forces. The new systems will include robust communications solutions, high-performance computing capacity, cyber protection, and a secure environment for information exchange across different security classification levels.
According to Thales, the systems will, for the first time in a NATO context, also enable the sharing of Full Motion Video (FMV) in real time between different deployable units, with the aim of improving situational awareness and operational effectiveness for special operations forces.
"By combining our expertise with Leonardo's capabilities, we are drawing on the best of European industry in a modular, upgradeable, and field-proven system that provides NATO's special operations forces with a next-generation deployable C2 system," said Alexandre Bottero, Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Networks and Infrastructure Systems at Thales, in the press release.