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Title:
Command & Control in the Digital Age: Accelerating NATO C2 Transformation to Deter in the Continuum of Competition
When & where:
November 17-20, 2025 – Rotterdam World Trade Centre
As NATO navigates an increasingly contested, interconnected, and digitized global environment, maintaining Decision Advantage is more critical than ever. Operating effectively across all domains – land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace – now depends on our ability to command, control, and connect in real time, across institutions and borders, with experts at the forefront of their fields.
The Alliance Concept for Cross-Domain Command provides the framework for the required adaptation to sustain Decision Advantage. Effective command of Multi-Domain Operations depends on enhanced interoperability, standardisation and the urgent integration of change, across people, processes and technology. The conference will explore the following key themes aimed at accelerating NATO C2 Transformation today:
- People: How can we accelerate the cultural shift required of our current and future leaders, to command effectively in MDO? This includes fostering human interoperability, a cross-domain mindset, trust, innovation, creativity and technical proficiency.
- Processes: What lessons should we learn from current conflicts and operations for future HQs and C2 structures? How can we advance toward a secure, modular, and interoperable digital foundation that supports distributed and resilient dispersed decision making?
- Technology: How do we make MDO consultation and collaboration a reality- creating innovation ecosystems where defense, industry, academia and government work together to keep us secure in the continuum of competition? How can we ensure secure data sharing across nations and actors? How can we accelerate the implementation of AI in decision support? How can we build trust in our partners? These challenge-driven partnerships enable faster scaling, open experimentation, and improved operational and infrastructure resilience.
These themes will be brought to life in the continuum of competition through practical use cases on the protection of critical infrastructure in the Port of Rotterdam and the NATO mission Baltic Sentry, and by lessons learned in Ukraine on data sharing, analyses and decision-making.
Will you be part of the experience?
The 2025 NATO C2 Conference is a high-level event that showcases the latest developments in Command & Control. It brings together subject matter experts from military, government industry and academia, alongside NATO and national commanders. Participation is by invitation.
Beginning with a social event on the evening of Monday, 17 November, the main conference programme runs from Tuesday (18 November) through Thursday (20 November), concluding in the early afternoon. Highlights include:
- Stimulating plenary sessions (presentations & discussions) and solution-driven side sessions focused on the three key themes;
- Exclusive site visits to the Port of Rotterdam to experience dual-use technologies and critical infrastructure protection in action.
By convening experts and warfighters, both on stage and in the audience, the NATO C2COE continues to build the C2 expert community and foster collaboration among all actors. All efforts and effects dedicated toward Accelerating NATO C2 Transformation to Deter and Defend – today and tomorrow.
