The NATO Military Committee visits the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency)
On 12 December 2022, the NATO Military Committee visited the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) in The Hague, Netherlands. During the visit, the Military Committee were briefed on current and future NCI Agency work and challenges.
Welcomed by the NCI Agency General Manager, Mr. Ludwig Decamps, and the Chief of Staff, Major General Hans Folmer, the Military Committee received briefings on NCI Agency’s latest 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 the General Manager of the NCI Agency Mr. Decamps.
During his opening remarks, the Chair of the 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 execution 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. Admiral Bauer stressed during the visit, “The warfare of tomorrow will be a fusion of modern and traditional warfighting. It will be as much about mud and blood as it will be about bits, bytes, and bots. The Alliance needs to be ready to counter it all, while maintaining a decisive military advantage.”
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.