On the occasion of a Commander’s Call, the NATO Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Force (NATO ISR Force) looks back on an eventful year 2023. Since the beginning of 2022 and Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, NATO’s ISR Force has become increasingly important generating intelligence data for the Alliance. It was only in September of this year that the force was renamed from NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force to NATO Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Force. An important and logical step, as the new name now reflects reality – Sigonella has become a hub for the NATO ISR domain.
“The Force’s accomplishments in 2023 are nothing short of stunning, I’m incredibly proud of this organization. We move quickly, we set ambitious goals, and we embrace a relentless commitment to excellence; this is what it takes to stay one step ahead of our adversaries. 2024 will be the next step in realizing our 2030+ vision: NATO ISR Force will be a platform and data-agnostic organization capitalizing on shared date from every domain and providing high quality intelligence products to NATO decision makers and members nations at the speed of need,” NATO ISR Force Commander, Brigadier General Andrew Clark stated during the final Commander’s Call of 2023.
Big steps were taken this year. New name, first mission over Finland and moving into the new building at NISRF’s disposal in Sigonella. NATO ISR Force flew significantly more missions than last year – eastern flank, Baltic Sea, Black Sea and High North. With its own five NATO RQ-4D “Phoenix” remotely piloted aircraft, NATO ISR Force had 30 percent more flying hours compared to last year. Brigadier General Clark therefore particularly thanked his current 420 NATO Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Force members for their excellent commitment and service. And the growth continues next year.
The name change is a logical and clarifying step forward for the Force; it reflects the reality of a mission set that is much broader than mere “Ground Surveillance.” NISRF flies regular missions with its own five RQ-4D Phoenix assets providing “organic” collection capability and support to targeting while enabling and supporting NATO persistent Joint Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) efforts. However, NISRF is a unique whole-of-effort ISR Unit growing at unprecedented speed; with its formidable analytical capability, it is a critical NATO intelligence node which processes, exploits and disseminates (PED) thousands of ISR products from any intelligence source made available by member nations.
