Today, Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exercise (CWIX) concluded, following a three-week execution that advanced the readiness and resilience of NATO and national Command and Control capabilities and information technology services.
This is the twenty-fifth anniversary of CWIX, which began for the first time in 1999 and is today hosted at NATO Joint Force Training Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland. This year’s exercise was also the largest-ever execution, with more than 2,500 participants on-site.
CWIX is a catalyst for interoperability – the ability to act together coherently, effectively and efficiently to achieve Allied objectives.
CWIX24 Summary
Engineers and operators from NATO and nations tested more than 480 capabilities, ranging in maturity from the developmental stage, such as innovative Extended Reality goggles to battle-tested, like geospatial situational awareness tools. During the three week execution, CWIX participants in 18 functional focus areas conducted more than 26,000 test cases, the results of which are fed into future exercises and capability development efforts.
“CWIX is an opportunity to demonstrate the commitment of NATO and its partners to enhance our ability to operate seamlessly together, across all domains,” said General Phillippe Lavigne, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, during a welcome address to distinguished visitors from 27 NATO member, and 2 partner, nations. “By fostering trust, confidence, and cooperation across nations, branches, and domains, CWIX strengthens our readiness to meet any challenge.”
Brigadier General Thorsten Jorgensen, Assistant Chief of Staff, Requirements at Allied Command Transformation, highlighted the increased operational presence at CWIX24. “We recognize that in today’s increasingly complex Command and Control environment, we will not achieve interoperability without the combined efforts of our operators and engineers. We are increasingly tailoring our cross-domain tests toward our warfighters’ requirements in very close cooperation with SHAPE and the wider Allied Command Operations community. And we will do more of this in the future.”
Multi Domain Operations at CWIX
CWIX24 facilitates progress on the ambitions set forth in the NATO 2030 agenda, to realize a fully Multi-Domain Operations-enabled Alliance by 2030. For the last three weeks, all five domains of operation (Air, Land, Maritime, Cyber, and Space) reduced risk within their information exchange, and improved standards, that will enable data-centric decision making. Progress on key operational priorities include improvements to the NATO Common Operational Picture 2.0, and the integration of Cyber and Space data through data lakes and improved information flows.
Federated Mission Networking at CWIX
From a technical perspective, CWIX is an annual opportunity for NATO, and nations, to ensure their systems are compliant with agreed-upon Federated Mission Networking standards. At CWIX24, capability teams achieved progress on their mission network set-up, training, and operations, while validating hundreds of NATO solutions and processes. Lessons learned at CWIX24 will enable the continual refinement of standards, which nations can leverage to validate their contributions to NATO missions, and to design interoperability into future capabilities, saving time and money.
CWIX24 Distinguished Visitors Day
On June 19th organizers provided distinguished visitors a unique opportunity for senior military commanders and civilian leaders from 29 NATO allies to witness, firsthand, how CWIX contributes to a stronger, more secure Alliance. Also in attendance were eighty-nine distinguished visitors from NATO bodies including NATO Headquarters, military representatives and members of the International Military Staff, Allied Command Operations, Allied Command Transformation, Joint Force Training Centre, Allied Air Command, Allied Land Command, Allied Maritime Command, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, Joint Analysis Lessons Learned Centre, NATO Communications and Information Agency, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and the Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee.
Digital interoperability is a continuous process, and when it comes to the critical technology needed to keep its one billion members safe, Allied Command Transformation will continue to drive progress through experimentation at CWIX.
The CWIX25 annual planning cycle will begin in September 2024. For more information, contact [email protected]
