The NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency has stepped up its cooperation with the Ukrainian government as part of a project to help the NATO Partner Nation modernize its Command, Control, Communications and Computer (C4) capabilities.
Experts from the NCI Agency met their Ukrainian counterparts in March to discuss future information and knowledge sharing, an initiative which falls under the NATO's Ukraine C4 Trust Fund.
The next round of in-depth workshops will take place in Ukraine from 15 to 19 May 2017. The Knowledge Sharing project enables Ukraine to benefit from the Alliance's experience in command and control, situational awareness, and interoperability so that it can be in line with Alliance standards and doctrines. The ultimate goal of the project is to enhance Ukraine's defence capabilities.
"This is more than static information sharing, it is a collaborative programme that allows Ukraine to leverage the Alliance's 60-year experience in situational awareness, rapid information-sharing, and how this can be implemented in Ukraine," said Ludwig Decamps, NCI Agency Director for Demand Management. "This knowledge will also benefit Ukraine's ability to work together with NATO forces and participate in NATO's operations and exercises."
Within this broad political framework, the NCI Agency is also supporting Ukraine as part of the Regional Airspace Security Programme (RASP).
Broadening airspace cooperation
At the same time, on 28 March, the first RASP network project group took place, facilitated by the NATO's Defence Investment Division.
The key objective of RASP is to provide cross-border coordination capability for the handling of air security incidents between Ukraine and NATO. The project will also promote regional airspace cooperation and improve Ukraine's internal civil-military coordination.
The project is currently monitoring the implementation phase which will establish – upon approval of the NATO C4 Trust Fund Lead Nations – the technical means and agreed procedures for sharing information between Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
NATO Nations are currently discussing the potential broadening of the RASP concept to boost airspace security in the Baltic and Black Sea regions.