"Alongside the NATO Space Centre, we at the NCI Agency are seeking to harness industry's expertise in support of NATO's most recent operational endeavour. Engaging with industry on technological challenges is always exciting; to do so in such a critical and growing area for the Alliance is a fantastic opportunity," said NCI Agency Chief of Staff, Major General Göksel Sevindik.
Through the pitch day, the NCI Agency and Allied Air Command aim to incentivize technology solutions that could be scaled to the NATO environment. The NATO Space Pitch Day at NITEC Connect is also intended to further expand the space industry, and its engagement with NATO, by supporting start-ups and small and medium enterprises.
Any company from NATO's 30 member countries can respond to the call for proposals to be pitched at NITEC Connect in June.
"The increasing use of the space domain offers NATO many opportunities to ensure the collective security of Allied populations," said Major General Karsten Stoye, Chief of Staff, Allied Air Command. "Rapid innovation is crucial to maintain our technological edge and working with industry allows us to seek the most competitive solutions to continually enhance capabilities in the space domain."
The first Space Pitch Day is focused on industry solutions related to applications that can improve or contribute to space situational awareness. NATO defines space situational awareness as the understanding of a space object's position in time. The aim of this space-focused pitch day, planned during NITEC Connect, is to identify applications that can process and visualise multiple streams of open-source data, providing aspects of space situational awareness.
What is on offer?
Feedback/ mentoring session with NATO space leadership;
Potential to demonstrate their solution on-site with NATO;
Potential to put their system into operational use with NATO;
One registration waiver for admission to the next NCI Agency flagship conference; and
Featuring of winners via the NCI Agency's and NATO AIRCOM communication channels.
The deadline to submit your solution is 16 May 2021.
Click here to learn more about the Space Pitch Day, and submit your solution!