Contents 1. Transforming Allied forces for current and future operations 2. Providing forces for current operations 3. Developing capabilities for tomorrow’s operations 4. Optimizing existing assets 5. Reforming NATO Headquarters Editorial Note   Editorial Note Other formats English PDF (<2 Mb) Printable version with colour illustrations Order a hardcopy version using the online order form.

NATO’s security is increasingly linked to stability beyond the Euro-Atlantic area. The Allies are finding ways to provide security across a range of new environments and are transforming their armed forces to meet new requirements.

NATO is engaged in operations and missions in Europe, the Mediterranean, Iraq and Central Asia. Its forces are involved in combat, peacekeeping, training and education, logistics support and humanitarian relief operations. They are working alongside the forces of non-member countries and with other international organizations.

The Alliance is enhancing its ability to conduct the full range of missions, from low to high intensity operations and from peacekeeping to collective defence. Under the direction of the North Atlantic Council – NATO’s principal decision-making body – the Alliance stands ready to meet new challenges, wherever they may arise.

To meet the full range of missions, Allied forces must be modern, deployable, sustainable and able to undertake demanding operations far from home bases. They must also be prepared, if necessary, for collective defence.

Coping with this increasing set of demands and new types of operations presents a significant challenge. That is why the Allies are committed to pursuing the transformation of their forces for current and future operations. Missions will continue to require agile and interoperable, well-trained and well-led military forces.

© ISAF

Guiding transformation
The Comprehensive Political Guidance (CPG) provides a fundamental vision for NATO’s ongoing transformation. Endorsed by Allied leaders at the Riga Summit in November 2006, it sets out the framework and priorities for all Alliance capability issues, planning disciplines and intelligence for the next 10 to 15 years.

The CPG provides an analysis of the future security environment, while acknowledging the possibility of unpredictable events:
“Terrorism, increasingly global in scope and lethal in results, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction are likely to be the principal threats to the Alliance over the next 10 to 15 years. Instability due to failed or failing states, regional crises and conflicts, and their causes and effects; the growing availability of sophisticated conventional weaponry; the misuse of emerging technologies; and the disruption of the flow of vital resources are likely to be the main risks or challenges for the Alliance in that period. All of these factors can be inter-related or combined, most dangerously in the case of terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction.”

Given this strategic context, the CPG details the kinds of operations the Alliance must be able to perform in the future and the kinds of capabilities that will be needed:
“The Alliance will require the agility and flexibility to respond to complex and unpredictable challenges, which may emanate far from member states’ borders and arise at short notice. The Alliance will also require effective arrangements for intelligence and information sharing. As in the past, intelligence and lessons learned from operations will also inform capability development.

In order to undertake the full range of missions, the Alliance must have the capability to launch and sustain concurrent major joint operations and smaller operations for collective defence and crisis response on and beyond Alliance territory, on its periphery, and at strategic distance; it is likely that NATO will need to carry out a greater number of smaller demanding and different operations, and the Alliance must retain the capability to conduct large-scale high-intensity operations.

Regardless of its overall size, each operation is likely to require a command and control structure able to plan and execute a campaign to accomplish a strategic or operational objective, employing the appropriate mix of air, land and maritime components. It also requires forces that are structured, equipped, manned and trained for expeditionary operations in order to respond rapidly to emerging crises.”

While the CPG defines NATO’s top priorities among capability requirements, it is for individual Allies to determine the exact details of these capabilities. NATO’s defence planning processes also play a role.

Implementation of the broad changes listed in the CPG is leading to the development of more usable capabilities for future operations and missions, thereby ensuring that the Alliance remains effective, credible and relevant in the 21st century.

The focus is now on the implementation of the CPG by member countries. Two aspects, in particular, are being pursued: monitoring and evaluating the fulfilment of the required capabilities; and improving NATO’s processes for identifying, developing and delivering the required capabilities.