Unprecedented Collaboration in Military Internet

Unprecedented Collaboration in Military Internet

military internet

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Efforts to establish a collaborative military network for NATO states has achieved a new stage. Government officials from Germany and the Netherlands have signed an agreement to build the first-ever joint military internet, called the Tactical Edge Networking (TEN).

This is the first time when two nations merge parts of their military network, and the project is viewed as a test for unifying other NATO members’ military networks in the future, as zdnet.com reports.

The final goal is to have NATO members share military networks, so new and improved joint standards can be developed and deployed across all NATO states. TEN will be headquartered in Koblenz, Germany, and there will also be a design and prototype center at the Bernard Barracks in Amersfoort, the Netherlands.

TEN network will merge communications between the German army’s land-based operations (D-LBO) and the Dutch Ministry of Defense’s ‘FOXTROT’ tactical communications program, used by the Dutch military. That would incorporate some 25,000 vehicles. Troops operating on top of the TEN network will be outfitted with identical computers, radios, tablets, and telephones, regardless of the country of origin.

The move was initially agreed upon by the two countries in May 2018, with the accord signed last month in Brussels, Belgium. According to rt.com, by 2030 the militaries of both countries hope to be able to communicate electronically using the fully integrated network.

TEN’s deployment is expected to cost the two countries millions of euros in costs to re-equip tens of thousands of soldiers and vehicles with new compatible equipment.