The Allied Command Transformation-led Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXploration, eXperimentation, eXamination eXercise — CWIX25 — officially began today at Joint Force Training Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland. During the next three weeks, more than 3,000 personnel are expected to convene at CWIX, testing more than 570 capabilities across all five operational domains and within 18 specialized functional areas (such as Modelling and Simulation, Logistics and Medical, and Friendly Force Tracking).
IT experts, engineers, and operators from nations, NATO, and industry will de-risk command and control capabilities and IT services for Allied missions, and incorporate lessons learned into future capability development.
At CWIX, we lay the foundation for modern, networked military operations. In a world where information superiority determines victory or defeat, CWIX contributes to technological dominance on the battlefield.
Commander Georg Klein, CWIX Director,
speaking at the Opening Ceremony
CWIX25 will be a benchmark year, with 20% growth in participation from 2024. Forty nations will converge, including 31 Allies, NATO, European Union Military Staff, five partner nations (Ukraine, Switzerland, Austria, Moldova, Georgia), and three observer nations (Ireland, Iraq, South Korea). Such diverse, global engagement exemplifies NATO’s robust partnership network and unparalleled influence on the global security landscape. Through their engagement at CWIX25, nations directly contribute to a stronger NATO and a safer world by unlocking new levels of digital interoperability for NATO.
Spotlight on Multi-Domain Operations at CWIX25
At CWIX, software and IT experts work side-by-side with warfighters, ensuring their operational requirements are met. CWIX25 will be more operationally focused than ever, with engagement of NATO Space Centre of Excellence, and increased involvement from Allied Command Operations through Cyberspace Operations Centre, Allied Land Command, Allied Maritime Command, Allied Air Command, and Joint Force Command Naples. CWIX provides Allies, agencies, commands, and partners a stable and secure environment, based on the Combined Federated Battle Laboratory Network, a federated testing network that connects national laboratories and enables information sharing with Allies and Partners.
CWIX25 will showcase improved and integrated Cross-Domain Information Exchange through testing in a joint vignette, a focused contribution to NATO’s Multi-Domain Operations goals, that will equip the commander with enhanced situational awareness for rapid and data-driven decision-making.
Spotlight on Federated Mission Networking at CWIX25
The Federated Mission Networking standards and specifications tested annually at CWIX allow nations to connect operational networks from Day 1 of a mission. Only by testing in venues like CWIX will NATO deliver the digital interoperability required for tomorrow’s Multi-Domain Operations-enabled Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (commonly referred to as C4ISR) capabilities. At CWIX25, nations will experiment and test against NATO-agreed standards and specifications that will lay the foundation to deliver an ambitious NATO 2030 goal of a Multi-Domain Operations-enabled Alliance.
Spotlight on Innovation at CWIX25
For the first time, CWIX25 will feature an “Innovation Sandbox”—a dedicated space to solve interoperability challenges for new and developmental technologies. This sandbox environment will ensure digital interoperability is built into future capability development through experimentation, with initial participation by small companies identified by the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). This year’s exercise also highlights a number of capabilities that leverage Artificial Intelligence, reflecting NATO and nations’ amplified capacity to test and develop emerging and disruptive technologies, thereby maintaining NATO’s technological advantage.
About CWIX
CWIX is the premier opportunity for NATO and nations to test and improve the digital interoperability that binds Alliance and Partner command and control capabilities and information technology services together. Led by Headquarters Supreme Allied Command Transformation, endorsed by the NATO’s North Atlantic Council, directed by the Military Committee, and guided by the Digital Policy Committee, CWIX is operationally driven and technically supported to meet Alliance and Partner Nation interoperability validation and verification requirements.
To learn more about CWIX, visit https://www.act.nato.int/activities/federated-interoperability/
