space
Allied government and industry officials meet at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's NATO Defense Industry Forum on July 9, 2024. (Photo: U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
WASHINGTON — Following a NATO summit here this week, 32 allies plan to develop the first-ever commercial space strategy to quickly introduce new technologies to militaries, based in part on recommendations compiled by a government and industry working group backed by NATO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“The focus of our conversation was that NATO plans to develop a commercial space strategy and this conversation was to inform that team,” Mike Greenlee, CEO of Canada's MDA Space, who chaired the joint working group, said Tuesday.
“The threat is real and it's fast, so it requires increased technology and capabilities, innovation and scale in the space sector. To increase speed, the ability to leverage commercial relationships with the commercial sector and industry in space capabilities, particularly in terms of observation, communications and so on, is going to be essential,” he told the chamber's NATO Defense Industry Forum.
According to a fact sheet posted on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce website, the forum was “the first NATO-sponsored working-level meeting of major defense industry leaders, Allied defense ministers, and senior NATO officials to advance defense production and transatlantic industrial cooperation,” and was organized “in cooperation with NATO and the White House,” the fact sheet added.
Indeed, senior alliance officials, including outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, used the forum to announce new industrial pledges that include plans for future joint development.
The forum also established five working groups focusing on aspects of the Allies' industrial needs, such as munitions and air defense production capabilities, technological innovation, strengthening cyber defense, adopting and adapting artificial intelligence, and space capabilities.
“Each working group's findings and proposed policy changes for the alliance will form the basis for NATO's policy work beginning this fall and will have a lasting impact over the next two years,” the chamber's fact sheet explains.
Greenlee told the forum audience that the Space Working Group has “diverse” members, including representatives from the United States, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg and France.
A key finding was that NATO needs to establish an “industry interface” to work with allied companies, including explaining that when it comes to acquiring space systems, NATO is a “coordinator, not an independent actor.” Such an “on-ramp” into NATO is important so “industry of all shapes and sizes, and in multiple countries, can see where they can interface to bring commercial capabilities into NATO capabilities,” he explained.
Another finding, Greenlee said, was that NATO needs to clarify “demand signals” from allies and develop its own investment plans to allow the space enterprise to “scale to meet the necessary requirements and demand.”
Echoing concerns raised in the Defense Department's recent Commercial Space Strategy, the group cited key challenges including the need to more streamline procurement rules so that procurement can keep up with innovation, and balancing security requirements, including cybersecurity, with the rapid pace of commercial innovation.
Greenlee added that the group found that NATO needs to work to improve its common space situational awareness and, from there, find better ways to protect its space assets, including those of private companies. As with the U.S., part of that conversation was about how allies can help private companies find “financial protection” against the risks of incorporating their systems into military operations.
The growing importance of space capabilities to NATO is firmly on the agenda for the 75th anniversary summit taking place July 8-11, and has also become a concern for U.S. congressional leaders.
A congressional delegation led by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), returned Monday from a trip to Luxembourg, France and Italy to discuss space security cooperation among the allies.
“This was the first international delegation focused primarily on national security space issues,” the HASC leaders said in a joint statement.
“Countering this growing threat requires us to work with like-minded allies and partners,” the statement added. “Ultimately, our success will depend on how well we work together, through bilateral agreements and multilateral alliances like NATO, to build resilience and support deterrence in space. Capabilities like space situational awareness are foundational and should be coordinated.”
Rogers and Smith were accompanied by Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), Donald Norcross (R-Detroit), Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.).
