Network based defence initiatives - An international outlock

This report describes the development of network based defence initiatives in France, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. The aim of the report is to support Sweden´s defence ministry in decision-making on Swedish network based defence (NBD) efforts. With NEC - network enabled capability - UK has positioned itself in a leading position in thinking and developing network based defence concepts. The UK strives for a close connection between NEC and the development of a new doctrine where effect based operations (EBO) is a central ingredient. In France, the development is very much characterised by a bottom-up perspective and currently there does not exist an all-embracing vision. The Netherlands and Norway are not so ambitious in there effort in building a network based defence. Both nations, point out that a small actor must follow the steps taken by the big nations. This is due both to lack of resources and the risk of building systems that will not be interoperable with the systems of the leading nations. Building on the description of the four nations initiatives, a comparative analysis is presented in the last chapter. A few reflections over the Swedish NBD-initiative in an international comparison conclude the report.