From "interoperability" to "interchangeability" - the United States seeks to deepen the ties among NATO countries
2024-08-16
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U.S. Army soldiers take part in a NATO live-fire exercise.
The US media recently published an article by Benjamin Johnson, a professor at the US Marine Corps University, entitled "The Future of NATO: From Interoperability to Interchangeability", which proposes that the interoperability on which NATO's collective defense has long relied is no longer sufficient to meet new challenges and must be upgraded to interchangeability.
The article states that interoperability has been an important support for NATO's joint combat power generation since the Cold War, and interchangeability will guide NATO's future collective defense. In recent years, the United States has been promoting NATO's transformation from interoperability to interchangeability, and has verified the concept and effect of interchangeability in maritime operations with the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries.
Interoperability is an important concept in the transformation of NATO's Allied Command, which aims to enable more than 30 member states to fight side by side. NATO defines interoperability as "the ability to act together in a consistent, effective and efficient manner to achieve allied objectives", which includes any factors that connect NATO member states in terms of technology, procedures, personnel and information. Among them, technical interoperability involves the standardization of hardware, equipment and systems; procedural and personnel interoperability involves principles, tactics, the establishment of common terminology and training to ensure consensus among allies; information interoperability involves the construction of interconnected combat networks, such as access to NATO's Joint Mission Network and allies joining the United States' Joint All-Domain Command and Control Network. Through interoperability, NATO member states have improved their information sharing and situational awareness capabilities, allowing them to make decisions more quickly and effectively.
Interoperability plays an important role in NATO's collective defense, but it has become insufficient in response to new situations such as the current regional conflicts. Although some NATO countries have provided a large number of military equipment and systems, their interoperability has not met expectations. According to the US media, soldiers from some NATO countries were at a loss when they first came into contact with artillery shells manufactured and packaged differently according to NATO standards in different countries. The "RIMPAC 2022" multinational joint exercise also exposed problems in interoperability. During the exercise, the US military MH-60R "Sea Hawk" helicopter failed to land on the Australian ship as planned because the decks of the Australian Navy's participating ships did not support the take-off and landing of the "Sea Hawk".
The article states that interchangeability, as an economic concept, means that one commodity can be interchanged with another without causing significant loss of value. In the military field, it means that any equipment, from artillery, missiles to fighter jets, can perform multiple tasks without causing significant loss of value; equipment from one country can also be used in the military of another country. For example, when a country is short of artillery shells and missiles, it can be supported by allies; when there is a lack of ships or even aircraft carriers, it can be filled by allied equipment. Interchangeability covers not only hardware, but also the exchange of personnel and systems. At present, the cooperation of maritime forces between the United States, Britain, Australia and other countries is gradually moving towards interchangeability.
In July 2020, the USS Bonhomme Richard amphibious assault ship was severely damaged by a fire, affecting the deployment plans of the US Navy and Marine Corps. At that time, the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was preparing to go to the Asia-Pacific region, and the United States proposed to use the British aircraft carrier to fill its own vacancies. US Navy Chief of Operations Michael Gilday declared that the relationship between the US and British navies is getting closer, and the goal is not only to achieve fleet interoperability or integration, but also to achieve interchangeability in areas such as aircraft carrier operations and underwater operations.
From May to September 2021, the HMS Queen Elizabeth carried a mixed fleet of F-35B fighter jets from the 617th Squadron of the Royal Air Force and the 211th Fighter Attack Squadron of the US Marine Corps and was deployed to the Asia-Pacific region. Angus Essenhay, commander of the British aircraft carrier, said that the mixed deployment of British and American fighter jets has brought the interoperability of the two sides to a new level and further achieved interchangeability. Due to the lack of F-35Bs in the British Air Force, the US F-35Bs often participate in exercises and training on British aircraft carriers.
Analysts point out that the driving force behind both interoperability and interchangeability is the United States. The U.S. military once emphasized interoperability with its allies, believing that it is the primary issue in all elements of joint operations, such as operational concepts, communications, intelligence sharing, and equipment. Today, the U.S. military is vigorously promoting interchangeability, claiming that maintaining equipment interchangeability with its allies is the key to ensuring future success. Although the concept has changed, the starting point is still to safeguard the interests of the United States. Compared with interoperability, interchangeability can better bind allies and partner countries to the U.S. chariot.
Whether NATO allies or other partner countries, they are still in a weak position compared to the US military power. The so-called interoperability or interchangeability is actually a one-way control of the US over other countries. Interchangeability, in particular, can integrate other countries into the US global military system to a greater extent, making them at the mercy of the US. Moreover, interchangeability also has political significance. For example, the joint deployment of an aircraft carrier task force by the UK and the US is a bundling effect, which means that an attack on the task force will be regarded as an attack on both the UK and the US.
It is worth noting that the realization of interchangeability is not achieved overnight, just like interoperability, which has been promoted for decades but cannot be said to be fully realized so far. It requires the development of concepts, continuous verification, investment, testing, training and exercises, etc. The US Navy also stated that without the participation of the international supply chain and the promotion of the compatibility of weapons and equipment, the future development of interchangeability will be limited.
(Source: China National Defense News)
