On 17 February 2025, NATO and Ukraine formally inaugurated the Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC) in Bydgoszcz, Poland. It is the first joint NATO-Ukraine organization in the NATO Command Structure and reports to Headquarters, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.
Over the course of the last year, JATEC has established itself as a key enabler of NATO–Ukraine cooperation, a driver of operationally informed innovation, and a catalyst for interoperability. It has accelerated experimentation, deepened information exchange, and embedded Ukrainian operational experience into NATO’s transformation agenda.
Building the Centre and delivering value
“We have achieved a great deal in our first year, but we are still in the building phase,” said the JATEC Commander, brigadier general Wojciech Ozga. “Creating a new organization within the NATO Command Structure—jointly governed and operated by NATO and Ukraine—is an ambitious undertaking. I am deeply proud of our staff, whose professionalism, creativity and commitment are turning vision into reality every day.”
JATEC’s first anniversary marks not only a milestone, but a foundation on which the Centre will continue to build its capability. The ongoing work in Bydgoszcz is shaping how NATO and Ukraine adapt, innovate, and prepare together for the challenges of modern warfare. One year on, JATEC stands as a hub for operational insight, innovation, and institutional transformation and is already delivering impactful recommendations while continuing to build professional networks and communities of interest.
Priorities for a modern operating environment
Within the first year, the Centre established a structured programme of work across five main lines of effort: warfare development; C4 (Command, Control, Communications, and Computers) & digitalization; human dimension & education; total defence; and transformation & interoperability. This broad approach reflects the reality of modern multi-domain warfare and reinforces JATEC’s core purpose: gathering insight from Russia’s war against Ukraine and providing actionable recommendations for the Alliance to transform.
A hallmark of JATEC’s first year has been its central role in Innovation Challenges, working alongside Allied Command Transformation and Ukrainian experts. Through direct integration of Ukrainian operational experience into planning, execution and testing of innovative solutions, JATEC is aligning innovation with real-world operational demands.
Proof in practice and what comes next
2025 also marked several historic firsts: During REPMUS/Dynamic Messenger 25, the Ukrainian Navy led the opposing force in a NATO exercise, incorporating battlefield experience into NATO’s collective training. JATEC representatives supported strategic level wargaming at Red Hiena 45, contributing to long-term policy considerations. Ukrainian experts also participated for the first time in NATO’s Article 5 exercise: LOYAL DOLOS.
One year after its inauguration, JATEC is no longer a concept or an experiment. It is a working NATO-Ukraine engine for turning hard-won operational insight into practical change, strengthening interoperability and accelerating adaptation where it matters most: in how the Alliance trains, learns, and prepares together.
