Air and Space Interoperability Council
Encyclopedia
The Air and Space Interoperability Council (ASIC) is a formal five nation military organization with a mandate to enhance coalition warfighting capability through air and space interoperability. Member nations are those within the Five Eyes community and consist of representation from their respective Air Force, and also includes the United States Navy. Based in Washington DC, the Council's Management Committee oversees the execution of the Vision and Mission with the cooperation of experts from member nations' defense departments. ASIC Website
Expressed in the simplest of terms, the ASCC sought to promote interoperability, through standardization, across the spectrum of expeditionary warfare and share relevant information and technology. This concept remains as valid today for ASIC as it was in 1948. The organization went through transformation and rebranding in 2005 to reflect the current global strategic environment, and a renewed emphasis on coalition expeditionary operations.
, AUSCANNZUKUS
and TTCP
. Because three of the member nations also belong to NATO, cross functional networking with this organization is ongoing and pivotal to the Councils' execution.
History and Heritage
ASIC, originally called the Air Standardization Coordination Committee (ASCC), was formed in 1948 to manage the Air Standardization agreement between Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. This agreement was aimed at those nations being able to conduct combined air operations and provide each other with certain essential services. In addition, it was agreed that the ASCC should promote the economies that would result from standardizing air materiel support and also encourage the exchange of research and development information. The ASCC was expanded to include Australia in 1964 and New Zealand in 1965.Expressed in the simplest of terms, the ASCC sought to promote interoperability, through standardization, across the spectrum of expeditionary warfare and share relevant information and technology. This concept remains as valid today for ASIC as it was in 1948. The organization went through transformation and rebranding in 2005 to reflect the current global strategic environment, and a renewed emphasis on coalition expeditionary operations.
Mission
To enhance current and future coalition warfighting capabilities through air and space power interoperabilityKey Attributes
- Looking to the Future - Building interoperability into future capability
- Measures of Interoperability - Developing valid measures of performance and establishing effective feedback loops
- National Imperatives - Each member nation is committed to making significant and valued contributions to coalition operations. ASIC needs to be recognized as an effective mechanism for member nations to achieving this outcome.
Working Groups
To enable the timely execution of the ASIC Vision and Mission, standing working groups were established in six key warfighting functional areas.- Agile Combat Support
- Air Mobility
- Command and Control
- Force Application
- Force Protection
- Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
Related Organisations
ASIC maintains a close working relationship with sister organizations based in the Washington DC area, including ABCA ArmiesABCA Armies
ABCA Armies is a program aimed at optimizing interoperability and standardization of training and equipment between the armies of the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, plus the United States Marine Corps and the Royal Marines...
, AUSCANNZUKUS
AUSCANNZUKUS
AUSCANNZUKUS is a naval C4 interoperability organization involving the nations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
and TTCP
Ttcp
TTCP may refer to:*ttcp, a computer utility program for measuring network throughput*The Technical Cooperation Program, an international organisation concerned with cooperation on defence science and technology matters...
. Because three of the member nations also belong to NATO, cross functional networking with this organization is ongoing and pivotal to the Councils' execution.