Sharing tactical data in a network-enabled coalition

Abstract

The NATO Command, Control and Consultation Agency (NC3A) is a participant in a coalition project called the Shared Tactical Pictures (STP). The aim of STP is to develop methods and techniques to enable the sharing of a wide variety of information - e.g., ground surveillance sensors, airborne sensor platforms, recognized pictures, and much more - across a widely distributed network. As NATO changes its war-fighting paradigm from a well-known and stable alliance configuration to more flexible, coalition-based operations, solving the problem of information-sharing has never been more important. This paper discusses the technical and operational developments being explored in STP.