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LUXEMBOURG – On 27 October 2020, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), General André Lanata, visited the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), in Luxembourg.

General Lanata and his ACT delegation were welcomed by NSPA General Manager, Mr Peter Dohmen, and NSPA Senior Staff. The meeting started with a briefing on the Agency's mission, activities and capabilities. This was the first ever visit of General Lanata to the NSPA and the first meeting between ACT and the NSPA management. "I am glad to welcome General Lanata and his team at NSPA today. This is a great opportunity to build on future cooperation", assured Mr Dohmen.

Discussions developed around NSPA Capability Development and its acquisition role and further ways to enhance cooperation and collaboration on capability delivery and optimisation. Special focus was the given to the Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (AFSC). Through this initiative, NATO is fundamentally redefining how it will conduct surveillance, and command and control once its current fleet of Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft reach the end of their service life in 2035.

Both organisations, ACT and NSPA, are contributing to the future development of AFSC capabilities. In 2016, NATO launched the Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (AFSC) to develop options for future NATO surveillance and control capabilities. In February 2017, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) initiated the AFSC Concept Stage with NSPA as the lead NATO agency to conduct studies and develop technical concepts. From its side, ACT leads the Bilateral Strategic Command (Bi-SC) team defining the capability requirements for AFSC.

ACT and NSPA work closely in the definition and assessment of industry studies in the Concept Stage and will continue to collaborate on several AFSC lines of effort required to develop coherent and interoperable capabilities in the future.. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity to exchange views on the project, discuss current and future efforts and challenges and enhance cooperation.

"I am delighted to pay a visit at NSPA and I thank you and the team for a very warm welcome. After listening to the presentations, I am sure that we will succeed in our challenging endeavour together. I am very confident in an efficient cooperation", stated General Lanata.

The visit to NSPA was part of SACT's official visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

About the Allied Command Transformation (ACT)

ACT is one of two Strategic Commands at the head of NATO's military command structure. The other is Allied Command Operations (ACO), which is responsible for the planning and execution of all NATO military operations.

ACT defines the future military context, identifying challenges and opportunities in order to innovate and maintain a warfighting edge. It ensures maximum interoperability; gives structure and priority to NATO forces through defence planning and capability development; applies innovation to leverage ideas, procedures and technologies to the benefit of NATO's warfare development; and, in all of this, leverages the intellectual horsepower of a large network of industry, academia, military and civilian expertise in nations, in NATO agencies and NATO Centres of Excellence.