ISSN 2239-2122 5 Information Technology (IT) has had and will continue to have a deep impact on the T IAI Research Papers defence sector. The most advanced countries, not only the U.S. but also France, Great HE The IAI Research Papers are brief monographs written by one or Britain and Italy, over the past few years have undergone a transformation of their TRANSFORMATION more authors (IAI or external experts) on current problems of inter- N. 1 European Security and the Future of Transatlantic Relations, THE TRANSFORMATION Armed Forces aimed at exploiting the strategic advantages of IT. national politics and international relations. The aim is to promote edited by Riccardo Alcaro and Erik Jones, 2011 greater and more up to date knowledge of emerging issues and The goal pursued in Europe, and also promoted by NATO, is Network Enabled N. 2 Democracy in the EU after the Lisbon Treaty, Capability (NEC). That is combining equipment and soldiers, as well as dierent OF THE ARMED FORCES trends and help prompt public debate. edited by Raaello Matarazzo, 2011 doctrinal, procedural, technical and organizational elements, into a single network to : obtain their interaction in order to achieve substantial strategic superiority. In OF N. 3 The Challenges of State Sustainability in the Mediterranean, practice, this also occurs with a strong, ecient and secure telecommunications THE A non-prot organization, IAI was founded in 1965 by Altiero Spinelli, edited by Silvia Colombo and Nathalie Tocci, 2011 THE ORZA PROGRAM network, and through the netcentric modernization of Armed Forces’ capability and F NEC ARMED its rst director. N. 4 Re-thinking Western Policies in Light of the Arab Uprisings, systems aimed at connecting them to the network. The Institute aims to promote understanding of international politics This research paper analyzes the military’s netcentric modernization and transformation edited by Riccardo Alcaro and Miguel Haubrich-Seco, 2012 FORCES through research, promotion of political ideas and strategies, disse- programs − still in progress − in France, Britain and Italy, with special focus on the joint mination of knowledge and education in the eld of foreign policy. N. 5 The transformation of the armed forces: the Forza NEC program, program led by the Italian Army called “Forza NEC”. Opportunities and challenges of : IAI main research sectors are: European institutions and policies; edited by Michele Nones and Alessandro Marrone, 2012 “Forza NEC” have been considered according to the Italian Armed Forces’ requirements, THE Italian foreign policy; trends in the global economy and internationa- developed during two decades of experience in international military operations, as well F as in the light of the evolution of strategic doctrines at a European and transatlantic level. ORZA lisation processes in Italy; the Mediterranean and the Middle East; PAPERS Particular attention has been devoted to the interaction between industry and the security and defence; and transatlantic relations. NEC Armed Forces, and to the involvement of many Italian companies in dierent Forza NEC activities, as this represents one of the pillars of the procurement program. PROGRAM MICHELE NONES is Director of the Security and Defence Area at the Institute of International Aairs (IAI). RESEARCH ALESSANDRO MARRONE is a Researcher at the Security and Defence Area of IAI. Michele Nones,Alessandro Marrone IAI Edited by Michele Nones and Alessandro Marrone 9788861348790_176_FM_3 www.nuovacultura.it SEGUICI SUI SOCIAL NETWORK 14.80 EURO IAI Research Papers The transformation of the armed forces: the Forza NEC program Michele Nones and Alessandro Marrone Edizioni Nuova Cultura Acknowledgements This research has been carried out with the support of Selex Sistemi Integrati. We would like to thank the Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, and particularly the Diparti- mento per la Trasformazione Terrestre, and the Direzione Armamenti Terrestri within the Segretariato Generale della Difesa/Direzione Nazionale Armamenti, for their infor- mation and suggestions. We would like to tank also Clare Roberts for the English translation’s review. _________________________ First published 2012 by Edizioni Nuova Cultura For Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) Via Angelo Brunetti 9 - I-00186 Roma www.iai.it Copyright © 2012 Edizioni Nuova Cultura - Roma ISBN: 9788861348790 Cover: by the author Graphic Composition: by the author The unauthorized reproduction of this book, even partial, carried out by any means, including photocopying, even for internal or didactic use, is prohibited by copyright. Contents Executive summary ....................................................................................................................... 7 Foreword .......................................................................................................................................... 17 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 19 List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... 21 1. The new requirements and Network Centric Warfare (NCW) ..................... 31 1. The digitization race and the NCW ........................................................................ 31 2. The NATO Network Enabled Capability (NNEC) ............................................. 34 3. The cornerstones of a net-centric force .............................................................. 36 4. The spiral approach and the changes in defence procurement ................ 38 5. The limits of a net-centric transformation: the US case ................................. 40 2. The Italian case study ................................................................................................... 45 1. Reflection within the Italian Armed Forces ....................................................... 45 2. The Italian experience in international operations ........................................ 48 3. The digitization of the Italian Armed Forces ..................................................... 53 4. Forza NEC program ...................................................................................................... 58 5. Forza NEC’s industrial commitment ..................................................................... 76 3. The French case study .................................................................................................. 91 1. The French net-centric concept .............................................................................. 91 2. The Joint level programs ............................................................................................ 95 3. The French Army ........................................................................................................... 98 4. The French Air Force ................................................................................................ 116 5. The French Navy ......................................................................................................... 121 6. The Joint convergence to SIA: An Ambitious Target .................................... 124 4. The British case study ................................................................................................ 127 1. The digitization debate ............................................................................................ 127 2. The British Army ........................................................................................................ 135 5 CONTENTS 3. The Royal Navy ............................................................................................................ 144 4. The Royal Air Force ................................................................................................... 149 5. Joint capabilities .......................................................................................................... 154 6. Industry cooperation ................................................................................................ 155 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 157 Bibliography and Web References ..................................................................................... 165 6 Executive Summary In an ever-changing strategic context, some factors appear to steadily influence the structure and use of military power; the changing nature of scenarios requires the Armed Forces to be effective in both qualita- tive and quantitative terms, flexible, mobile, modular and deployable, able to respond promptly to a crisis; the strong joint and combined character of international military operations requires high interopera- bility standards with a wide range of partners; the economic constraints significantly limit defence budgets and dictate choices which are in- creasingly based on a cost/benefit analysis; technological change, par- ticularly in Information Technology (IT) and force protection fields, means that systems become quickly obsolete, making a constant updat- ing and upgrading process essential. In particular, IT has been instrumental in connecting civil society, by proving unprecedented speed of communication, ease of information dissemination, and the ability to exchange and share data in various formats, all at a relatively inexpensive cost. This “revolution” has