NATO requires an adaptable set of tools and processes to innovate its capabilities at the speed of relevance. Allied Command Transformation’s (ACT) Force Lethality Enhancement (FLE) is positioning NATO Nations to adapt faster than our adversaries and maintain the warfighting edge by supporting national force development activities. The fusion of data, technology, innovation and scale has redefined how to fight, now and into the future. Speed, agility and the ability to adapt are the primary drivers of warfighting success on the contemporary battlefield.
Critical Areas: To complement existing processes and provide Nations with additional options to address evolving warfighting needs, ACT commissioned a study in 2025 to recommend options to increase Allied lethality. This study, FLE, assessed alternative capability mixes through evidence-based testing in seven areas. These are the results:
- Armoured Brigade: Amoured brigades modified by FLE demonstrate superior lethality and degrade enemy combat power 30% faster than traditional brigades. The alternate variations improve situational awareness, early threat detection, personnel safety and overall survivability.
- Land Medical: Medical staff modified by FLE require 25% less staff while maintaining the same level of care. Augmented Reality telemonitoring reduces surgery duration by about 30%, as medical staff are able to receive advice from senior mentors. Using uncrewed aircraft and ground systems can further decrease evacuation time by 50%.
- Anti-Submarine Warfare: FLE’s anti-submarine warfare conclusions recommend utilizing uncrewed systems to augment traditional naval platforms to achieve constant coverage of the subsurface domain. This force mix can also be tailored to Commander needs based on cost or asset constraints through additional uncrewed assets.
- Attack Rotary Wing: By offering varied force mixes, some with uncrewed assets, FLE’s attack rotary wing proposals improve lethality and survivability while reducing personnel burden.
- Combat Reconnaissance: FLE’s optimized structure for combat reconnaissance battalion introduces uncrewed air defence, artillery and reconnaissance systems to existing traditional force structures. This enables dispersed operations and provides Allied forces with asymmetrical information advantages.
- Combat Engineering: FLE’s combat engineering study delivers higher operational tempo and survivability through autonomous and semi-autonomous systems. These systems reduce risk to high-value platforms and increase survivability. Improved Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance are proven to be decisive.
- Multi-Domain Operations: When NATO forces use Multi-Domain Operations enablers recommended by FLE, NATO reduces adversary mobility by 60% and halts its advance 13 hours earlier at the operational level. This also increases adversary attrition by 30%.
Force Mix: By providing Nations with options to meet capability requirements, FLE is a catalyst for innovation and adaptation. The results of the study offer a powerful springboard for further exploration by Allies and reinforces the need for interoperable forces. In short, through FLE, NATO is developing, testing and fielding new technologies to maintain competitive advantage.
In 2026, the study will be extended to increase the portfolio of innovative solutions to National military imperatives.
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