Interoperable, adaptable, information exchange in NATO coalition operations

Abstract This paper summarises our work on policy-enabled inter-network routing for mobile networks and adapting information services to available networking resources in tactical networks. The work shows promise; both the policy routing and adaptive service infrastructure were part of successful interoperability trials in the Coalition Warrior Interoperability eXercise (CWIX) in 2021. This paper highlights our findings, how our work can support interoperability in NATO, and represents an enabler for future coalition operations. Although promising, the work involves research and concept development, and so, we anticipate its timeframe for seeing actual operational use as likely 3–5 years from now, typically targeting future developments within Federated Mission Networking (FMN). In our work, we have shown that we can build a federated mobile network by using a reactive routing protocol that supports policy routing in a network overlay for use in a coalition. Further, we have shown that we can leverage network-level information at the application level, through a so-called cross-layer optimization (CLO) approach. The CLO approach leverages a well-defined format, and we found that this format promotes interoperability and can be used in a multi-national setting. Since our work is experimental, we have also identified some shortcomings for future work.