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NATO's vision for the 21$` century was set forth at the Washington Summit in June 1999. This vision retains for NATO the strengths of the past, involves new missions, new members and new partnerships. The Summit:
* Approved an updated strategic concept
* Reaffirmed a commitment to the Enlargement process
* Completed development of the European Security and Defence Identity
* Launched a Defence Capabilities Initiative
* Intensified relations with Partners
* Enhanced the Mediterranean dialogue
* Decided to increase Alliance efforts against weapons of mass destruction and their mean of delivery.
These decisions provided a framework for the future NATO, and the NATO C3 Agency has become a major player in supporting these initiatives by:
* Providing unbiased scientific advice and assistance to NATO military and political authorities.
* Developing, procuring and implementing cost-effective system capabilities to support the political consultation and military command and control functions of NATO.
The Agency believes that the effective exploitation of technology is a critical success factor for NATO and the Agency. Thus the following principles underpin the strategy for achieving the Agency mission:
The recruitment of competent engineering and scientific staff to work in an environment that allows the opportunity to use and exploit current technology. Such staff, together with experienced military officers provide the scientific and technical interface necessary for the work of the Agency.
* The pursuit of user-oriented laboratory test-- bedding and field prototyping to provide a means to involve operational users in a process of applying technology to improve the operational capabilities of NATO.
* The use of evolutionary acquisition paradigm to quickly field new systems an equipment that can be clearly specified, competitively procured and implemented with little risk. The following article illustrates how the
Agency is organised to fulfil its task and shows some of the current major projects and areas of current interest.
HISTORY AND LOCATION
The NATO C3 agency was established on 1st July, 1996 by the amalgamation of the former SHAPE Technical Centre (STC) and the NATO Communications and Information Systems Agency (NACISA). The Agency, which operates under a single management structure, is located in Brussels, Belgium and he Hague, Netherlands. In late 2002/early 2003, the Brussels component of the Agency is expected to...