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13 Jun. 2008

Ukraine joins NATO Air Situation Data Exchange programme

At the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission at the level of Defence Ministers on 13 June, Ukrainian Defence Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Ukraine’s participation in NATO’s Air Situation Data Exchange (ASDE) programme. Once implemented, the system will facilitate the reciprocal and mutually beneficial exchange of filtered air situation information between NATO and Ukraine.

The NATO signatories to the MOU were SHAPE and Hungary, as the implementing authorities and NATO data provider respectively.

Ukraine applied to participate in NATO's ASDE programme in July 2006.  After a series of exploratory meetings and discussions, the North Atlantic Council approved the application in July 2007.  In the interim period, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Hungary and Ukraine have worked on developing the MOU and Technical Arrangements necessary to implement the programme.

The signing of the MOU paves the way for technical implementation and testing of the system, which are expected to be completed before the end of the year.  A Ukrainian Air Command and Control unit will connect to the NATO Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) in Veszprem, Hungary. 

Background

The ASDE programme was launched in 2001 to provide a means for the reciprocal exchange of filtered air situation information between NATO and a Partner country. The programme also provides Partner countries with insight into NATO procedures and offers valuable training experience.

The programme helps improve air safety by enhancing mutual awareness and transparency about what is going on in the respective airspace, and providing a mechanism to minimize potential cross-border air incidents along common borders.  Moreover, the programme contributes to the fight against terrorism by increasing the information available to those who control the airspace and are responsible for air safety.

Austria is the only Partner to have established a functioning ASDE exchange with NATO.  Georgia is close to finalising technical implementation. The North Atlantic Council has also approved requests from Albania, Finland and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia1, and individual MOUs are being developed with each of these countries.

In 2007, the North Atlantic Council agreed to expand the ASDE programme to include interested Mediterranean Dialogue countries and civil aviation air traffic management organizations.

  1. Turkey recognizes the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.