On 12 December 2022, the NATO Military Committee visited the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) in The Hague, Netherlands.
The Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer and the NATO Military Representatives were welcomed by NCI Agency General Manager Ludwig Decamps and Chief of Staff Major General Hans Folmer. During the visit, the Military Committee were briefed on the Agency's current and future projects.
"The speed of technological change has never been higher, and delivery for today must be adaptable to ensure success for tomorrow. Thus, it is crucial that NATO's armed forces are able to communicate at the speed of relevance. The NCI Agency is able to provide this support due to the continued commitment and partnership with the Military Committee, Military Representatives and Nations who fill key military positions in the Agency. Together we are maintaining NATO's technological edge," said General Manager of the NCI Agency Ludwig Decamps.
During his opening remarks, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee stated, "The NCI Agency is a strategic asset for the Alliance. With digital transformation being at the heart of tomorrow's warfare, NCI Agency experts are critical to NATO and ensuring it can fulfil its core tasks of deterrence and defence; crisis prevention and management; and cooperative security".
The NCI Agency is assisting with the implementation of the Concept for the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area and the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept, the two key military strategies ensuring the Alliance is ready not only for today, but tomorrow's challenges. The concepts place greater importance on interoperability, accelerated decision-making, and cross and multi domain operations. These areas are all enabled and underpinned by technological solutions.
The NCI Agency supports NATO by providing the systems, services and expertise to ensure that the Alliance can work together to safeguard peace and security for nearly 1 billion citizens. Amongst other things, it defends NATO networks 24/7, provides critical technology for air command and control and ballistic missile defence, and helps NATO explore emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Space innovation.