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NATO Deputy Spokesperson Mark Sanders

Thank you very much. We still have many more exciting announcements for you today, and we'll be continuing with the next hour or so with the same format you're now familiar with. For those of you participating in this segment, I will ask you to be ready to come to the stage when I call your country or company. We'll begin with new announcements in the field of space and surveillance after a short video.

Now to discuss NATO's efforts in this area, I would like to welcome to the stage the NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska. Deputy Secretary General, the floor is yours.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska

Thank you, Mark. And, good morning, everyone. Before I start the big announcements, and this is the part you are all waiting for, let me share how honoured and pleased I am to be here with you today. And also to see that our big Defence Industry Forum takes form. We wanted to make this the biggest Defence Industry Forum ever, and I’m pleased to say we succeeded. It’s really quite a show.

Our governments and our companies, and the people working in them, are contributing to making NATO’s defences stronger, to make our militaries more capable, and, ultimately, our people safer. So, this is why we are here today. Without further ado, let’s jump right into it. And I will start, of course, with space and surveillance, for which we have already seen the video.

Let me start by saying that space is no longer the distant frontier it once was. It is part of our critical infrastructure, on which a large part of our economy depends. But, also, it is essential for our security. Our militaries could not function properly today without space-based capabilities. Space technology has become more affordable, and launch costs have significantly decreased. As a result, more countries are investing in their own satellite constellations. Let me mention four projects that will enhance our collective space capabilities.

And the first one has to do with one of the biggest challenges in the space domain and that is connectivity. Individual satellite constellations are highly vulnerable to targeted cyber-attacks, to jamming or physical destruction, while also being too slow to relay large amounts of data on their own.  So today, I’m really pleased to announce that eight Allies are launching a project to explore the development of a mega-constellation, called HALO, opening a new chapter in Allied space operations. So this new model will be particularly helpful for high-speed communications, intelligence and missile tracking, overcoming the cost, the time and coverage limitations of single-nation satellite fleets.

The second one is our NATO flagship initiative for space-based intelligence, which is called Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space, APSS. It was launched two years ago at the Washington Summit, and today Spain will become the 19th country to join the initiative. Spain will contribute by boosting coastal surveillance through imagery from its Atlantic Constellation satellites.

Third is the recent investment by our host nation, Türkiye. Following the success of its original ÍMECE Earth observation satellite, Türkiye is announcing an ambitious plan for the development of two additional high-resolution satellites. They will be built here in Türkiye by the TÜBİTÁK Space Institute, with a contract worth over 300 million US dollars.

Türkiye has also signed contracts with ASELSAN for the development of Low Orbital Satellites and Military Communication Systems as well as the procurement and development of Early Warning Radar Systems within the scope of the Steel Dome National Integrated Air Defence Architecture. These contracts are worth in total over 350 million dollars, and they will enhance Türkiye’s ability to remain connected on the battlefield and their detection and early warning capabilities. These initiatives will contribute to the already robust space and surveillance capabilities in the region.

And the fourth one has to do with the fact that space activity demands resilient launch infrastructure. Several NATO Allies and Indo-Pacific partners are working on the STARLIFT initiative to create a network of launch companies and space ports that could be used, for instance, to launch a replacement satellite in case of an emergency.

In addition, today, the German company Isar Aerospace will sign a 140-million-dollar contract with the Canadian Maritime Launch Services to secure the lease of a launch pad at the space launch site in Nova Scotia. This partnership will improve orbital launch readiness. And all the projects that I have mentioned, from Canada to Türkiye, are excellent examples of transatlantic cooperation in action, something that we are seeing throughout today. So, I return the floor now back to Mark.