On April 24th, 2023, General Philippe Lavigne welcomed the Norwegian Vice-Chief of Defense, Vice Admiral Elisabeth Natvig, to discuss the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept as well as the NATO Defense Planning Process.
Allied Command Transformation is committed to developing and delivering the capabilities required by NATO so the Alliance and its warfighters are able to maintain a decisive advantage over its adversaries. As part of this effort, Allied Command Transformation is working to implement the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept to ensure that the Alliance’s future Military Instrument of Power remains relevant. It is also working to improve the Military Instrument of Power in the present by resolving common capability shortfalls among Allies that are critical to NATO’s deterrence and defense. Allied Command Transformation’s contributions to the NATO Defense Planning Process are critical to this effort, where it determines Minimum Capability Requirements, develops Capability Target packages, and manages Common Funded Capability Delivery projects.
Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, General Philippe Lavigne, and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, General Chris Badia, met with Vice Admiral Natvig, providing her with an update on the Command’s progress in implementing the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept. The development of all-domain capabilities by the Alliance received particular attention, with discussions focusing on how Allied Command Transformation’s efforts in this area could inform Norway’s defense policy, its Military Instrument of Power, and its understanding of future trends and threats. Another point of discussion was the NATO Defense Planning Process, where they discussed expectations for, and opportunities in, the next round of this process.
Assistant Chief of Staff Strategic Plans and Policy, Rear Admiral Ruud Schoonen, and the Branch Head of Strategic Foresight, Dr. Gergely Nemeth, also met with Vice Admiral Natvig during her visit to Allied Command Transformation. During their office call, they spoke about how warfare development connects Allies through the NATO Defense Planning Process and discussed current plans to enable NATO’s transformation into a Multi-Domain Operations-enabled Alliance. They also talked about trends and drivers of future conflict, with climate change being a key point of focus.
The NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept is the core document that currently guides Allied Command Transformation’s military transformation efforts, and is often referred to as the Alliance’s ‘North Star.’ Completed in 2021, the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept outlines five essential Warfare Development Imperatives: Cognitive Superiority, Layered Resilience, Influence and Power Projection, Cross-Domain Command, and Integrated Multi-Domain Defense. By improving in these areas, NATO seeks to improve its Military Instrument of Power to be able to defeat competitors and adversaries by out-thinking, out-exceling, out-fighting, out-pacing, out-partnering, and out-lasting. It also seeks to be able to do all these functions across the three operational contexts of shaping, contesting, and fighting.
The NATO Defense Planning Process is the mechanism used by NATO to identify the capability the Alliance requires to meet its stated level of ambition, and seeks to promote the development and acquisition of these capabilities by Allies. Allied Command Transformation plays a critical role throughout the Defense Planning Process by identifying the Minimum Capability Requirements of the Alliance’s Military Instrument of Power and helping to apportion and set Capability Target Packages for individual Allies.