From 3 to 25 March 2025, the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) is participating in the Joint Power Optic Windmill (JPOW) 2025 exercise, which focuses on the integration of counter unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) with national air defence systems.
JPOW is a binational exercise organized by the Royal Netherlands Army Command and the German Air Force Forces Command. Hosted at the Netherlands Ground Based Air Defence Command Lt-Gen Best Barrack at Vredepeel, Netherlands, the exercise brings together 700 military personnel from 11 NATO Nations.
JPOW25 enhances situational awareness of C-UAS operations and adapts current Surface Based Air and Missile Defence (SBAMD) procedures to evolving threats. This includes intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and offensive operations, which by nature are multi-role, harder to detect and increasing in number. The exercise tests technical functionalities but also simulates offensive drone-driven operations and their rapid pace of escalation.
This year’s training underscores the importance of cooperation among the participating Nations and entities during both NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) operations and the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) mission. The training focus on areas such as mission planning, execution, briefing and debriefing, and interoperability within a simulated battle space.
The exercise employs Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) and uses HardWare In the Loop (HWIL) and simulated systems, providing a unique training opportunity for NATO IAMD forces and units at the operational and tactical level.
NCIA provides cross-functional support to the exercise ensuring seamless coordination and execution. NCIA’s Joint Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) Centre is involved in the planning and coordination, deploying crucial C-UAS sensors and running the live UAS operations.
NCIA’s Air Command and Control (AirC2) Centre provides the Ship-Shore-Ship-Buffer (SSSB) system, which collects and processes data, and shares tactical data in a standardized format, ensuring smooth integration of sensors supplied by NCIA Command and Control (C2). They also provide the in-house developed Integrated Command Control application service, used to monitor and display the air and space tracks during the exercise.
In addition, experts from the NCIA’s Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) team contribute their technical expertise to support the integration of information and C2 systems and NCIA’s NATO Cyber Security Centre is responsible for configuring and securing the data diode.
This exercise serves as crucial building block toward Multi Domain Operations, allowing NATO to train and refine operational and technical concepts in a multinational NATO IAMD environment. This environment also evaluates current and future capabilities, ensuring NATO remains future-proof.