Ukraine's Delta battlespace management system may be used in NATO joint planning

Image showing the Delta digital map, which uses data from various sources, including sensors and satellites. (Ukraine's Centre of Innovations and Defence Technologies Development)

NATO sees multidomain testing opportunities for a Ukrainian battlespace management system called Delta, NATO's Allied Command Transformation (ACT) has told Janes .

“While Delta has not been adopted/adapted by NATO, it could potentially be used for planning joint military operations of different scales and complexity,” said Danielle Moser, US Navy Lieutenant Commander and Public Affairs Officer for ACT, on 17 January.

Data standards

Delta has achieved increased interoperability with NATO systems as its multidomain situational awareness (SA) toolset is based on NATO standards and specifications, said Lt Cdr Moser. Delta has also been tested in ACT-led events such as the annual Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exercise (CWIX), which Ukraine took part in over the course of five years. During the first three years, Ukraine's team tested one interoperability standard, and in 2023 they tested four standards.

In June 2024 representatives from Ukraine's Centre of Innovations and Defence Technologies Development, which is under its Ministry of Defence (MoD), tested Delta for five different interoperability standards at CWIX. The integrated multidomain SA toolset and cloud-based data software is able to send a full operational picture in two standards – NATO Vector Graphics (NVG) Data Format and Multilateral Interoperability Programme (MIP) format – Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth Boiko, Ukrainian Army, capability lead for the Centre of Innovations and Defence Technologies Development, Ukraine's MoD, told Janes in an interview on 14 January.

The MIP specification consists of a common data model for the exchange of battlespace information between command-and-control (C2) systems. Both standards are the ‘common language' between C2 systems.