Held in Toulouse, France, the NATO Space Centre of Excellence conference served as a critical forum for the Alliance to address the strategic importance and operational integration of the space domain. The conference focused on ensuring NATO’s effectiveness in space, which is increasingly recognized as a contested and vital operational environment, emphasizing Deterrence, Security, Interoperability, and Technological Innovation.
Space is a Key Domain in Multi-Domain Operations.
Speakers from NATO Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation emphasized this perspective, while a dedicated panel delved into “Space as the Keystone of Multi-Domain Operations’’. Space is seen as uniquely underpinning and enhancing other domains like land, sea, maritime, and cyber by providing critical functions such as missile warning, navigation, secure communications, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. The conference aimed to support NATO’s goal of being fully Multi-Domain Operations-enabled by 2030, acknowledging that the full implications of the pervasive space domain on Allied operations are still being realized. Key themes explored within this focus included international space strategy competition and maintaining space assurance.
Enhanced Interoperability in the Space Domain, including its role in Deterrence.
NATO defines interoperability as the ability to act together coherently, effectively, and efficiently to achieve Allied objectives, encompassing people, process, and technical dimensions. The conference highlighted that seamless operation across Allies and partners is not just a force multiplier but a credible deterrent. Interoperability enhances resilience against threats and failures, improves information sharing for decision superiority, is strengthened through combined training and exercises. It also requires overcoming barriers in policy, legal frameworks, and operational cultures.
Addressing shared space threats NATO’s Defence Policy and Planning provided updates on NATO Space Policy and its strategic directions, and the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Operations addressed the practical Integration of Space into NATO Operations.
Engaging Industry and Industry Integration.
Commercial actors drive much of the innovation in space. Several panels and keynotes brought together senior leaders and advisors to discuss perspectives on industry’s contribution. The purpose was to harness commercial advancements to bolster capabilities, enhance resilience, and maintain a technological edge. NATO is building strategic partnerships, integrating commercial space capabilities into military operations, accelerating innovation through dual-use technologies, and establishing necessary regulatory and policy frameworks. Initiatives like the NATO Industrial Advisory Group, SpaceNet, and Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) are highlighted as crucial structures for this collaboration.
The conference provided a vital platform to collectively analyze threats, refine policy, enhance interoperability, foster integration, and engage with industry. Ultimately this aims to ensure the Alliance’s continued strategic advantage and operational effectiveness in the increasingly critical space domain.
