For NATO, innovation is not an abstract idea but a practical process that delivers tools and capabilities into the hands of warfare developers and warfighters. Allied Command Transformation (ACT) plays a central role in guiding that process through its Science and Technology Programme of Work, ensuring that promising concepts mature into real-world solutions.
A key part of the journey is the NATO Innovation Continuum. This approach accelerates projects through rapid experimentation and demonstration, bridging the gap between research and operations. Once validated, projects are handed over to NATO’s commands and agencies for full adoption. As Simon Purton, Branch Head for Innovation at NATO Allied Command Transformation, explained:
“The Innovation Continuum is NATO’s fast lane from concept to combat readiness. By advancing projects like MAINSAIL, the ISR Asset Planner, and MDO AI, it is delivering solutions that strengthen deterrence and secure NATO’s technological edge.”
Each of these projects originated at ACT and was advanced through the Innovation Continuum toward operationalization, demonstrating how science and technology translate into operational advantage.
MAINSAIL: Protecting the Critical Underwater Infrastructure
Background
MAINSAIL (Multi-Domain Awareness and Insight with AI Layering) is NATO’s advanced maritime situational awareness platform. Developed by the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation under ACT Programme of Work, it protects undersea infrastructure such as communication cables and energy pipelines. By fusing data from sonar, radar, satellites, and open sources, MAINSAIL applies artificial intelligence algorithms to provide a Critical Underwater Infrastructure focused maritime picture.
Why It Matters
The system delivers seabed-to-space awareness, detecting anomalies like unusual loitering near undersea cables. Its machine learning tools generate alerts for rapid response while also providing long-term insights for planning. MAINSAIL complements broader command-and-control systems, strengthening cross-domain coordination and reinforcing NATO’s collective defence.
Status and Next Steps
Operational trials began in 2024 with Task Force X, and Initial Operational Capability will be fully deployed by the end of 2025 with NATO’s Allied Maritime Command. The system has already been tested in the Baltic and Arctic Seas and will also support the NATO Shipping Centre in 2026.
Joint ISR Asset Planner: Smarter Collection Management
Background
The Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Asset Planner, developed by the NATO Communications and Information Agency under ACT Programme of Work, helps commanders plan how to use NATO’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets. Traditionally, this requires staff to manually match requirements with aircraft, drones, and satellites. The Joint ISR Asset Planner automates this process, using artificial intelligence, optimization algorithms to generate efficient collection plans in seconds.
Why It Matters
By reducing planning time and workload, the tool frees personnel to focus on decision-making while ensuring resources are used effectively. Because it follows NATO’s data standards, it can connect with national systems, enabling multinational planning and execution.
Status and Next Steps
The Joint ISR Asset Planner has already been tested in operational settings and during NATO’s Coalition Warrior Exercises (CWIX) in 2024 and 2025. NATO’s Allied Air Command has praised its efficiency, noting its potential to transform planning. Next, the tool will expand to include space-based sensors, deepen integration with NATO intelligence systems, and evolve into a full capability that will support Multi-Domain Operations.
MDO AI: Decision Support for Multi-Domain Operations
Background
Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) AI was launched by ACT and developed by the NATO Communications and Information Agency. It uses advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to retrieve and process both NATO doctrinale and real-time operational data. Operators can ask complex questions in natural language (such as identifying ISR coverage gaps) and receive validated, actionable answers.
Why It Matters
Modern operations generate more data than human operators can manage alone. MDO AI addresses this challenge by providing rapid insights that improve situational awareness and speed up decision-making. It also aligns with NATO’s efforts to establish interoperability standards for AI, ensuring scalability across commands and systems.
Status and Next Steps
The prototype has already proven its value and is now expanding to include imagery, video, and sonar alongside text. A pilot with the Multi-Domain Strategic Operations Centre is underway, and NATO exercises are testing the system in realistic conditions. Future development will add translation, reporting, and geo-tagging functions, with the goal of scaling MDO AI across NATO headquarters as a trusted decision-support companion.
Driving Innovation Forward
MAINSAIL, the Joint ISR Asset Planner, and MDO AI highlight how Allied Command Transformation drives innovative ideas into operational tools. Each has advanced through the Innovation Continuum and is now being delivered to NATO’s operational commands.
By accelerating the adoption of advanced technologies, ACT ensures NATO remains at the cutting edge of defence innovation. The aim is not only to explore new possibilities, but to turn them rapidly into capabilities that strengthen deterrence, readiness, and collective defence in every domain.