The NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO) this month held its first-ever meeting in North Macedonia, bringing together more than 150 people for wide-ranging discussions on cutting-edge communication and information services (CIS). The STO Information Systems Technology (IST) Panel held its spring Panel Business Meeting (PBM) in Skopje on 15-19 May, as well as the 2023 International Conference on Military Communications and Information Systems (ICMCIS) on 16-17 May.
The IST PBM opened with an address from Ms Slavjanka Petrovska, North Macedonia Minister of Defence, who spoke about the need for NATO and Allies to “preserve our technological edge” in light of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and increased competition from China.
“In this ever more demanding strategic environment, Alliance unity, solidarity and cohesion remain key,” Ms Petrovska said in her remarks. “Together with our like-minded partners, we need to stand together, help each other and push back against those authoritarian powers seeking to rewrite the global rule book.”
Ms Slavjanka Petrovska, North Macedonia Minister of Defence, speaks at the IST PBM in Skopje, North Macedonia
The bi-annual Business Meetings provide an opportunity for each STO Panel and Group to reflect on and evaluate recent work, and to decide on proposed future activities, to be carried out by Technical Teams of national experts. At this month’s IST PBM, the Panel approved ten new scientific activities for validation by the NATO Science and Technology Board (STB), and endorsed one Exploratory Team.
As Europe’s largest conference on military CIS, the ICMCIS provides a forum for exchanging ideas and knowledge on the development and implementation of advanced (ICTs) for military systems. This year’s conference, held for the first time as a NATO STO event, focused on ICT solutions for multi-domain operations, ranging from big data analytics to secure resillient communication networks.
Mr John-Mikal Størdal, Director of the NATO STO Collaboration Support Office (CSO), opened the ICMCIS with a keynote speech in which he stressed the importance of Nations working together to develop cutting-edge capabilities through the STO Collaborative Programme of Work (CPoW). He also highlighted the value that newer NATO Nations, such as North Macedonia, can derive from engaging with the STO CPoW.
“I am thrilled that this year’s ICMCIS is held in North Macedonia, our newest member of the NATO family, until Finland joined last month,” Mr Størdal said. “Maintaining an advantage in communication and information technology is key to protecting our Nations, and can only be achieved through collaborating and working together. Events like this make the work we do in the STO even more meaningful, inspiring and rewarding”.
Maj Elizabeth Boiko, Ukraine Ministry of Defence Centre of Innovations, speaks at the 2023 ICMCIS in Skopje, North Macedonia.
The 2023 ICMCIS also featured an operational keynote from Maj Elizabeth Boiko of the Ukraine Ministry of Defence Centre of Innovations, who described how the Ukrainian military has leveraged her team’s DELTA software product to ensure situational awareness and coordination on the battlefield. DELTA encompasses a full ecosystem of products and services that integrates data from various sensors to provide soldiers with real-time information across the land, air, sea and cyber domains.
“DELTA has very ambitious plans to automate everything that can move, fly and shoot and integrate it into the system,” said Maj Boiko in her presentation, adding that her team valued the opportunity to engage with the NATO community to share the lessons her country has learned from the “most technological war of the century”.
Learn more about the work of the STO IST Panel here. Published by IST | 
