Home  /  BALTIC AMBER Magazine  /  ROLE OF THE AIR OPERATIONS COORDINATION CENTRE WITHIN MULTINATIONAL CORPS NORTHEAST

Throughout their history, air assets have been utilized for combat tasks. Several times, we even saw them attain strategic goals in a conflict, like e.g. during NATO's Operation Deliberate Force in the Balkans in 1995. More often, however, their contribution lay in achieving air superiority to ensure the successful performance of operational and strategic tasks not only by air, but also - or perhaps - most importantly by land and sea forces. A good example of the above is the Arab-Israeli conflict, the so-called Six-Day War of 1967, during which Israel managed to gain complete air supremacy over the enemy's coalition centred around the armed forces of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Another example is Operation Desert Storm of 1991 or the current conflict in Ukraine where the importance of using unmanned aerial vehicles is not to be underestimated.

The complexity of carrying out a multi-domain operation, involving the coordination of all types of troops at the same time, requires speaking a similar language and understanding the importance of inter-service liaison elements. This is easier said than done, especially since there are differences in character and temperament between said domains.

Photo by Sergeant Eriks Kukutis (LVA MOD)

An Air Operations Coordination Centre (AOCC) is a tactical-level air organization collocated with a corps headquarters acting as a land headquarters, in this case Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE). Its main mission is to provide permanent air expertise to and liaise with the headquarters in question on behalf of NATO's Allied Air Command (ACC), coordinate air operations in support of the headquarters at the tactical level and to help the individual services translate air force into army language and vice versa. AOCC MNC NE is collocated and will normally deploy with the Corps Headquarters, exercising its functions within MNC NE' s area of operations. Though collocated, the AOCC is not subordinated to the Szczecin-based headquarters but remains under the functional authority of Allied Air Command.

On 24 March 2000, air-force representatives of Poland, Germany and Denmark, authorized by their ministries of defence, signed a technical agreement that enabled the creation of the first and only standing NATO Air Force entity on the northeastern flank of the Alliance to this day. All AOCCs are NATO Force Structure bodies formed by their framework nations and - consequently - have a different personnel structure. However, their tasks remain the same.

Following the raising of the Corps Headquarters readiness status in 2016, AOCC faced new tasks and an increased work pace. The changes involved the withdrawal of all Danish positions from the Centre's structure.

Looking at the composition of AOCC today, it is clear that every section contributes to providing expertise to HQ MNC NE in all air matters. The offensive and defensive sections are 'the action arm' when it comes to planning of offensive and defensive air operations, air defence and air space management or executing air operations in support of the Corps' mission. They follow the direction and guidance given by the Chief AOCC and are supported by intelligence and administration efforts.

The primary role of the AOCC is to give advice and educate the HQ MNC NE personnel on what airpower can do for them. This is accomplished by delivering briefings on air-related subjects, documents, doctrines and concepts as required and promoting air awareness across the Corps, including actively supporting the Corps battle rhythm during daily activities and training and exercises. For example, exercise STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 was designed to train and evaluate the NATO Response Force 2022 under the lead of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum and to train audiences at the strategic, operational and tactical levels, focusing on deterrence across all domains. The AOCC's main effort was to connect the operational- and tactical-level planning and tasking processes in the land and the air domain. In order to do this, AOCC revised all land requirements and made the necessary adjustments to present the operational manoeuvre of the Corps to NATO's ACC.

Loss of strategic air superiority, ability to defend against attacks from the air and the inability to take offensive action leads to loss of initiative and submission to the intentions of the opponent, and as a result to defeat.

J. Gotowała, Air Superiority: history and perspectives, Air Force Review, Feb 2010, no 2, p.11.

Members of AOCC. Photo by MNC NE

Air-land integration (ALI) is the main endeavour of every AOCC serving a corps HQ and functionally linked to Allied Air Command. To accomplish it to the fullest benefit of an organization, it is vital to maximize combined efforts of all capabilities in any operation, regardless of the ownership. In any military conflict, ALI provides a perfect example of joint operations.

At HQ MNC NE, AOCC is the crucial link for the connection of the air and land domain. As they are not part of land forces, air assets have to be requested to provide air support to the Corps. Therefore, effective coordination is essential to delivering joint effects. Close air support and air interdiction are crucial elements in supporting a land campaign. These missions are exercised almost every day with the enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroups in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland by NATO's Air Policing assets stationed in the Baltic States and other countries. This process is also facilitated by the AOCC, in concert with HQ MNC NE and the airspace planners at ACC. To increase the effectiveness of military operations, it is imperative to operate in an efficient, integrated and flexible manner with minimum mutual interference and without undue restraint and risk to friendly forces.

However, the success of an organization like the AOCC depends on the smooth orchestration of all activities, which is an effective joint battlespace management. The personnel of AOCC MNC NE are able and willing to fulfil this task on a daily basis, standing alongside their army friends and supporting MNC NE's mission to carry out the full range of military operations throughout the area of responsibility and beyond.

Baltic Amber Magazine