Home  /  About us  /  Technology and Innovation  /  Emerging and Disruptive Technologies

Emerging and Disruptive Technologies


Innovative technologies are changing the world, having a profound impact on security and the way NATO operates. They also provide new opportunities for NATO militaries, helping them become more efficient, resilient, cost-effective and sustainable.

Our scientists and experts work to embrace the opportunities that these new technologies offer, adopting and integrating them in cooperation with industry, academia and Allied Partners, to accelerate innovation and help NATO remain a competitive and leading force.

Discover our practical work to harness Emerging and Disruptive Technologies:

Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

NCIA has been supporting the Alliance with data science, artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced data analytics, delivering practical outputs for the NATO community since 2018, when a group of data scientists and innovators started collaborating with different NATO entities. With the creation of the Chief Technology Office in 2021, NCIA officially launched a dedicated Data Science and AI team.

By exploiting Big Data and AI, the team provides services, capabilities, tools and expertise to the NATO community, enabling a better access to large volumes of information and analysis, and supporting better situational awareness and decision-making processes. Below are some of NCIA's projects:

5th Generation Mobile Communications Technologies

5G offers faster speed, lower latency and a greater overall bandwidth, compared with its predecessors. NCIA champions NATO efforts towards understanding the challenges and security concerns for the wider defence community, as well as the benefits and enablers for military applications.

5G and beyond technologies may bring new opportunities to the military in many areas, such as capability development, interoperability and communications resilience. NCIA experts work to harness 5G technology and systems to provide benefits or connectivity to NATO when forces deploy, while exploring the use of 5G to facilitate interoperability in multinational scenarios.

An example of NCIA's work with 5G is NATO's 5G exercise run by Allied Command Transformation and Latvia. During the exercise, they demonstrated the use of 5G to provide long distance, low-latency, high throughput and interoperable communication services. These services were used to connect a variety of autonomous devices such as drones and land platforms, seamlessly, over long distances.

Quantum technology

Quantum technology is of particular importance to NATO and the defence sector as it has the potential to bring new capabilities and applications in the fields of computing, communications and sensing, to solve complex problems and make Allied networks more secure.

NCIA, through its NATO Cyber Security Centre is exploring quantum technologies, under the Science and Technology Programme of Work, sponsored by Allied Command Transformation.  Based on the analysis of applications on quantum technologies, such as quantum computing, quantum key distribution and sensing to cyber domain, the team is seizing opportunities arising from the quantum technologies, understanding their benefits and vulnerabilities, and making recommendations for short and long-term activities within NATO.

Through exploration and research, the Alliance seeks to capitalize on quantum technologies in domains such as satellite-independent navigation, secure communication, encryption-breaking, platform detection, and fast decision-making.