Thales Expands NATO Partnership with Ballistic Missile Defence Capabilities for Enhanced Joint Operational Awareness

Thales Expands NATO Partnership with Ballistic Missile Defence Capabilities for Enhanced Joint Operational Awareness

(IN BRIEF) NATO has selected Thales to lead the third phase of its NCOP (NATO Common Operational Picture) programme, called NCOP-BMD, which will introduce advanced ballistic missile defence capabilities. Building on a collaboration that began in 2012, this phase extends Thales’s legacy in supporting NATO’s situational awareness and operational coordination. The system aggregates tactical data from various command domains—land, air, and sea—into a real-time, unified operational picture. Thales’s technology empowers NATO commanders with a secure, comprehensive, and dynamic view of battlefield activities, strengthening collective defence and decision-making, particularly in the face of growing missile threats.

(PRESS RELEASE) LA DÉFENSE, 14-Apr-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Thales has been chosen by NATO to carry out the third phase of the NATO Common Operational Picture (NCOP) programme, known as “NCOP-BMD”. This critical advancement aims to offer NATO commanders a unified and dynamic real-time overview of the operational environment and evolving threat scenarios. It’s a key step in enhancing joint forces’ situational awareness across complex theatres of operation.

Building on a collaborative relationship that began in 2012, Thales has previously developed Increment-1 and Increment-2 of the NCOP system, which are currently in use at approximately 30 NATO command centres. This new phase not only reaffirms Thales’s pivotal role in NATO’s strategic infrastructure but also brings next-generation ballistic missile defence (BMD) capabilities into the fold. These enhancements are designed to strengthen NATO’s defensive posture, particularly in safeguarding European allies against the rising risks associated with ballistic missile threats.

Gérard Herby, Vice President for Protection Systems at Thales, highlighted the company’s extensive experience with NATO interoperability since 2015. “This third contract draws upon our longstanding expertise. We are integrating new BMD functionalities that will provide NATO Commanders with enhanced situational awareness and decision-making support,” he said.

Modern joint military operations involve complex coordination among land, sea, and air units, each using distinct command systems that generate vast volumes of geospatial data. The NCOP application developed by Thales is designed to ingest, synchronize, and synthesize this information into a single, real-time operational view. This consolidated Common Operational Picture (COP) empowers NATO commanders with comprehensive situational awareness and improved clarity for mission-critical decisions.

Thales’s software platform also ensures secure access to multiple COPs for the operational community. By tapping into tactical data from a range of sources, the system strengthens battlefield awareness and provides a strategic advantage through superior information management. Each real-time COP integrates essential information—ongoing missions, the capabilities of allied and adversarial forces, and potential plans of action—offering a holistic snapshot of the evolving operational landscape.

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies for the Defence, Aerospace, and Cyber & Digital sectors. Its portfolio of innovative products and services addresses several major challenges: sovereignty, security, sustainability and inclusion.

The Group invests more than €4 billion per year in Research & Development in key areas, particularly for critical environments, such as Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum and cloud technologies.

Thales has more than 83,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2024, the Group generated sales of €20.6 billion.

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SOURCE: Thales