NATO Air Command and Control System

Il Nato Air Command and Control System (ACCS), cioè Sistema di Comando e Controllo Aereo della Nato, è il strumento che fornisce, con un singolo e integrato sistema di controllo e comando, la gestione di tutte le operazioni aeree della NATO, all'interno e all'esterno dell'area euro-atlantica.

Il Nato ACCS sostituisce i sistemi nazionali di controllo aereo dei paesi membri, comprendo così oltre 10 milioni di kilometri quadrati di spazio aereo della NATO. Esso rappresenta uno dei principali pilastri del NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System, lo strumento che permette di salvaguardare e proteggere il territorio, le popolazioni e le forze armate della NATO contro qualsiasi minaccia e attacco aereo-missilistico. Tale sistema è integrato con il controllo delle missioni aeree, del traffico aereo, della sorveglianza e gestione dello spazio aereo ed è incardinato presso l'Allied Air Command di Ramstein-Miesenbach

Both CAOCs are composed of two parts. One part is a Static Air Defence Centre (SADC) responsible for air policing and the other a Deployable Air Operations Centre (D-AOC), which supports operations. The D-AOC is an element focused on the production of combat plans and the conduct of combat operations.

In July 2015, the ACCS system reached a significant milestone when NATO’s first ACCS site was activated in Poggio Renatico. On 17 June, the first ever ACCS real-life air policing event was controlled using NATO ACCS. The order to take off was sent from the CAOC located in Torrejon and was executed by two Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft controlled by the ACCS site in Poggio Renatico. Other NATO and national sites will follow in 2015 and subsequent years.

Once fully deployed, ACCS will cover 10 million square kilometres (3.8 million square miles) of airspace. It will interconnect more than 20 military aircraft control centres, providing a wide spectrum of new and modern tools to all NATO air operators, and greatly increase the effectiveness of NATO air operations.

In the future, ACCS will integrate the capabilities of missile defence command and control, be interoperable with Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) and Joint intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR).

Deployability To support NATO’s out-of-area operations, the NATO ACCS programme will provide deployable capabilities. The Deployable ARS (deployable air control centre) is a mobile, shelterised tactical component of NATO ACCS that will support any NATO out-of-area operations and is designed to be easily transportable by road, air and sea. The DARS achieved initial operational capability on 12 June 2015.

Information-sharing NATO ACCS is made of various dedicated national and NATO systems which pool their resources and capabilities to create a new, more complex system offering greater functionality and performance.

The system will allow improved information-sharing and shared situational awareness to distributed sites in order to support collaboration. It also shares information with a mul