Press Release (2004)031 5 March 2004

NATO-Russia Council Theatre Missile Defence Command Post Exercise (TMD CPX) Under the aegis of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), the Theatre Missile Defence Ad Hoc Working Group will conduct the first joint NATO-Russia TMD Command Post Exercise from 8-12 March 2004 at the United States Joint National Integration Center (JNIC) (1) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The purpose of the CPX is to validate the Experimental Concept and associated Experimental Concept of Operations (CONOPS) developed over the past year by the joint NATO-Russia TMD Ad Hoc Working Group. Over sixty participants from ten NATO nations and the Russian Federation are expected to participate. Additional support and participation will be provided by the NATO Military Authorities (NMAs) and the tri-national (2) Extended Air Defence Task Force (EADTF). The CPX is a computer-assisted, real time event that focuses on command and control of forces. Together with a joint Interoperability Study being conducted concurrently under the lead of the NATO C3 Agency (NC3A), the CPX is expected to provide the basis for future interoperability enhancements as well as for a more robust NRC Theatre Missile Defence exercise foreseen for 2005. This is an important step in the practical cooperation between NATO and the Russian Federation as foreseen in the Rome Declaration of 2002. For more information on the exercise please contact, Mr. James. Lovell, Defence Investment Division, NATO HQ, +32.2.707.4763. Further information on the Joint National Integration Center can be obtained by contacting, Mr. Rob McKinney, JNIC, +1.719.567.9202. For more information on the Extended Air Defence Task Force and their participation in the NRC, please contact, Colonel Kurt Lambert, Deputy Chief EADTF, +49.2736.44.2728. As the Missile Defense Agency's center of excellence for integration of Ballistic Missile Defense System elements, the JNIC provides a synergistic environment, teaming the developers and the warfighters to jointly develop missile defence capabilities. The three nations comprising the EADTF are Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.

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