The United States will partner with 15 NATO member countries, along with invitees Finland and Sweden, to launch the “largest space project” in history that would smooth the gathering process of data collected from space.
The goal of the initiative, entitled “Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space” (APSS), is to significantly enhance the alliance’s intelligence and surveillance while also providing essential support to NATO military missions and operations, according to a Feb. 15 statement.
“This project is also a great example of civil-military cooperation, providing a powerful asset to our intelligence toolbox,” said Mircea Geoană, NATO’s deputy secretary general.
Besides the United States and the two NATO candidates that are expected to join the alliance in the future, other participants currently included in the APSS program are Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom….