Pioneering Alliance: Airbus and Northrop Grumman Drive NATO’s Next-Gen Surveillance Revolution

Northrop Grumman Corporation and Airbus Defence and Space, in collaboration with seven industrial partners, have launched ASPAARO, the Atlantic Strategic Partnership for Advanced All-domain Resilient Operations. ASPAARO intends to undertake the Risk Reduction and Feasibility Studies (RRFS) for the NATO Support and Procurement Agency as part of the Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (AFSC) initiative.

The feasibility studies represent a pivotal milestone in the AFSC initiative, which aims to assist NATO and its member nations in evaluating the Alliance’s upcoming tactical surveillance, command, and control capabilities after the existing Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) fleet concludes its operational life in 2035.

After providing a High-level Technical Concept in 2020 from three of the team members (Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and MDA Ltd.), Airbus persists in aiding NATO during the conceptual phase of the AFSC initiative alongside Northrop Grumman and a robust transatlantic coalition including Lockheed Martin (US), BAE Systems (UK), KONGSBERG (Norway), MDA (Canada), GMV (Spain), Exence (Poland), and IBM (US).

ASPAARO presents an unmatched array of expertise and proficiencies that will tackle contemporary and future threats, fulfilling the Alliance’s needs across all sectors. The industrial consortium will capitalize on its multi-domain approaches, cutting-edge technologies, and integrated frameworks to establish a fully interoperable infrastructure among NATO allies while further propelling innovation through shared access, investments, and insights.

“State-of-the-art surveillance and control systems are fundamental to guaranteeing NATO’s ongoing operational success, to which we are fully dedicated. We consider it a privilege to contribute to this strategic programme for NATO by harnessing our expertise and capabilities in multi-domain operations, surveillance, and intelligence. Through this transatlantic collaboration, we reaffirm our promise to furnish the Atlantic Alliance with the most formidable technological solutions to ensure it remains ahead in tomorrow’s multi-domain-driven operational landscapes,” stated Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space.

Northrop Grumman President of Aeronautics Systems Tom Jones underscored ASPAARO’s commitment to fulfilling NATO customers’ mission needs. “ASPAARO amalgamates the finest industrial capabilities across the NATO community to tackle increasingly essential surveillance and command and control demands. In a swiftly changing threat landscape, NATO necessitates the strategic edge provided by advanced surveillance and control; ASPAARO is dedicated to delivering those unmatched capabilities to the NATO AFSC initiative.”

A verdict on the contract award for the Risk Reduction and Feasibility Studies for NATO AFSC is anticipated in 2022.