NATO Spring “Tide Sprint” Conference opens in Split

The spring conference organised by the Allied Command of Transformation (ACT) “Tide Sprint” was opened in Split on 25 March 2019. The opening was attended  by the Chief of Defence of the Croatian Armed Forces General Mirko Šundov and the Asistant Chief Staff Capabilities at HQ SACT,Rear Admiral René Tas (NLD N).

The Conference is attended by more than 400 participants from more than 30 NATO members and partner nations, including the national representatives, the representatives of the academic community and of global companies and IT industry. 

General Šundov expressed conviction that the Conference outcome will have an important effect. “New security threats demand a joint response and different approaches. We are witnessing to the  fourth industrial revolution, characterised by blurred borders between the material, digital and biological spherers. It takes experts who think differently and see new opportunities and are thus able to provide winning solutions”. 

General Šundov in his address said the use of new technologies in operations will necessitate an adaptable attitude and technological awareness, legal framework and regulations that will facilitate the adoption and  ensure highest interoperability for all technologies to ensure effective operation across the five domains of warfare. “Croatia is developing and introducing new IT capabilities, and one of the projects implemented was the establishment of new cyber command”, said General Šundov.

Reminding that Croatia, has over the past decade of NATO membership taken part in NATO-led operations and activities, General Šundov concluded: “Interoperability is the common denominator for all the operations and activities”.

The “TIDE Sprint” Conference is an expert forum discussing the enhancing of the  interoperability among NATO nations and partner nations and gathers experts from the academic community, defence industry, armed forces and governments to co-operate and to present and define adequate solutions for the challenges faced by NATO.

“TIDE Sprint” informs and inspires the participants and the interested community and promotes their operation and developmental capability programmes, and its results enhance NATO’s resilience, strengthen its combat readiness and the collective defence capability. The “TIDE Sprint” (‘Think-Tank for Information, Decision and Execution Superiority’ – TIDE) is a part of the annual cycle of connected activities organised by NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, that comprise TIDE Hackathon and Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXercise.

The research of ideas at the “TIDE Sprint” Conference, experimenting with new solutions at “TIDE Hackathon”, and testing of the existing capabilities at the Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXercise enables NATO to maintain innovation and continuously enhance interoperability.

Connecting the  events the Allied Command of Transformation provides a well-concieved approach  to innovation, recommendation and implementation, gathering the users, processes and technology as three key components of interoperability.

The 2019 Conference will focus on the effect and the opportunities provided by Data Science). Data Science is the central subject of the Interoperability Continuum in 2019, as it will build  new NATO capabilities and upgrade the existing ones. 

The Conference agenda highlights the subjects of interoperability of Command and Control (C2) system, cyber defence and requests fo implementation of NATO Federated Mission Networking (FMN) initiative.

The Conference will feature discussion of the remarks on interoperability taken during the joint exercises, the participation of the winner teams of the last “TIDE Hackaton“ held in Warsaw and  presentation of solutions that promote military decision making process. One of the topics is also synergy of technology and human users. 

The application of Data Science in all aspects of military operation will significantly shape combat activities, and the integration of the know-how in Data Science enables NATO further explore the possibilities and the risks involved.

“Tide Sprint” has been organised since 2005 as semi-annual conferences. Spring conferences are held in Europe and autumn conferences take place in Norfolk (VA) respectively. The spring Conference in Split ends on 29 March 2019.