NCIA also advises NATO and national planners on the implications of space defence capabilities, harmonizing operational and defence planning, as well as supporting Allied Command Transformation (ACT) with up-to-date conceptual and doctrinal developments. The NCIA Operational Analysis Centre (OAC) is central to this work, supporting the NATO Defence Planning Process by guiding senior leaders on the technical capabilities needed to meet NATO’s ambitions, contributing to capability apportionment among nations and assessing progress toward agreed targets.
Building on these foundational roles, NCIA also supports major programmes that translate space capabilities into operational advantage for the Alliance. A key example is the Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS). Launched in 2024, APSS establishes a virtual space-based ISR constellation integrating national and commercial data, enhancing NATO's situational awareness and operational effectiveness.
To accelerate the adoption of commercially available capabilities, NCIA has identified tools and services that support NATO's imagery analysts and has established the APSS Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA), which now includes over 75 registered companies. The framework allows acquisition requirements to be advertised directly to these companies, enabling a rapid assessment of their ability to meet NATO’s operational needs and ensuring timely integration of commercial solutions into NATO systems.
Through collaboration with NATO entities, commercial and national partners, NCIA ensures that NATO’s space capability remains robust, agile, and strategically relevant. To learn more about how these efforts are harnessing the space domain amidst an increasingly contested operating environment, do not miss out our second special article as we close Space Week 2025.