A NATO a UK Defence Journal according to its website, it is preparing to expand the use of independent systems for the protection of the Baltic Sea.
According to the report, the Task Force X Baltic the next phase of the initiative will be formally confirmed by the signing of a new memorandum of understanding signed by eight participating allies. According to NATO, the program represents a practical shift from innovation testing to real operational application.
“At the 2025 NATO summit, Allied governments approved a significant increase in defense spending to meet a new and ambitious defense target,” he said. Nikolaos LoutasDirector of NATO’s Defense Industry, Innovation and Weapons Division, at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
It also added that they supported “a rapid deployment action plan to accelerate the pace of technology adoption to achieve these goals.”
The action plan was described as a mechanism to enable innovations to be incorporated into defense planning to meet what he called “the urgent operational need for new, effective technology”.
“The action plan integrates NATO’s innovation efforts into defense planning and capability development to meet the urgent needs of our armed forces for innovative and effective technological products,” said Loutas.
He also said the allies have pledged to take measures to speed up the acquisition and integration of devices, including sharing best practices, new application paths and greater experimentation to reduce risks of new products.
Loutas also emphasized that the Task Force X Baltic initiative is one practical mechanism that makes all this possible. “Such a move a Task Force X Baltic structure, which today reaches a very important second milestone with the signing of the letter of intent for the second phase.”
„A Task Force X Baltic its first phase has shown that allied navies and land forces, in close cooperation with industry, can provide continuous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance from the seabed to space, quickly, at scale and more affordably,” said Loutas.
During the second phase, NATO officials said, eight allies will strengthen their cooperation in deploying technologies that enable rapid acquisition and integration of multidomain capabilities for maritime operations. The following countries are: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.
Now that the Task Force X Baltic the second phase has formally begun, NATO is positioning the program as a model for wider application, as the experiences of the Baltic Sea cable events increase efforts to integrate commercial, autonomous technology into NATO’s capabilities.
Photos: NATO / Saildrone. This content is generated using artificial intelligence and verified by our editorial team.
