Alliance moves ahead on a project for a NATO-wide ground surveillance system

Senior Armaments Representatives from member countries have agreed on measures to explore the scope for an ambitious cooperative programme to provide a NATO-wide Ground Surveillance System. This has the potential to be of similar importance and dimensions to the successful NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control ( AWACS programme.

Both for crisis management and for the political and
military conduct of operations generally (including
peacekeeping), military commanders need an effective
picture of the ground situation, complementary to the one
that AWACS provides for the air picture.

Four member nations are at present pursuing developments
in this field. The United States and United Kingdom are
proposing fixed-wing aircraft (J-STARS and ASTOR) which
can cover theatre-wide areas of interest, and France and
Italy are proposing heliborne systems (HORIZON and
CRESO), which can cover Brigade/Division areas of
interest. A number of other countries, including
Canada,Denmark and the Netherlands have offered
complementary capabilities or other sensors.

The Armaments Representatives, meeting in a specially
established Ground Surveillance Steering Committee,
reached agreement in principle on the funding
for a Project Office and expressed their appreciation to
the Belgian authorities for providing accommodation for
the Project Office in the Belgian Air Force
Headquarters, opposite NATO HQ. Agreement was also
reached to launch a number of technical studies aimed at
identifying how an Alliance capability could best be
constructed.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Robin Beard, NATO
Assistant Secretary for Defence Support. Commenting
after the meeting, Mr. Beard said that he detected "a
real determination on the part of nations to push ahead
with a programme that was one of the most ambitious
examples of transatlantic armaments cooperation ever
attempted".

For further information, please contact Dr. Friedhart
Sellschopp, Team Leader of the Project Office, tel:
int'l-32-2-728 42 98, fax: int'l-32-2-728 41 03.