Foreword
It is safe to say the Year 2020 was not what anyone expected it would be! We have all endured a very difficult global situation, with this ongoing pandemic affecting each of our Nations. Our thoughts and sympathies go out to everyone affected by this pandemic. In spite of these lingering challenges, we are proud that the JAPCC team remained resilient, flexible, and productive throughout the year. This edition of the Annual Report summarizes what the JAPCC accomplished in this busy year, and provides a glimpse into the work we will be performing across the A&S domains for 2021 and the years to come.
Throughout 2020, the JAPCC offered expertise in the development of the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept, working closely with our partners across ACT and ACO. NATO intends to build on this Capstone Concept as the strategic vision for the next twenty years, and the JAPCC was honored to be part of its production. Moreover, the JAPCC published a white paper last year to complete a multi-year study on the evolution of Close Air Support. In addition, the team provided the Czech Republic Tactical Air Force a detailed analysis (in response to their request for support) offering several options to recapitalize their Air Force in-line with both National and NATO levels of ambition.
The JAPCC Opposition Forces (OPFOR) Air Team continued to provide extensive support to the NATO Joint Warfare Center in the development of a new exercise scenario used for Exercise Steadfast Jupiter-Jackal. Members of the JAPCC also led the OPFOR Air support to AIRCOM during the preparation of Exercise Ramstein Ambition. Due to the pandemic, these teams overcame new obstacles to work remotely to enable these critical exercises. In June 2020, the JAPCC released its revised Capstone Document, to capture its evolving mission and vision after 15 years of existence. The result is a very short and comprehensive overview on the JAPCC’s guiding principles, organization, and focus areas. The document also provides renewed strategic direction by the Sponsoring Nations. As with many organizations across the globe, the JAPCC enhanced our ability to conduct online meetings last year. We held our Steering Committee and Senior Resources Committee meetings virtually, for the first time in JAPCC history. Although the meetings felt different from the ‘family gathering’ style of former years, they continued to be highly productive. Importantly, the Committees voted on several new JAPCC work strands, and we established a new Space Branch within the organization.
Looking into 2021, the JAPCC is developing a new approach to cover NATO Joint All Domain Operations (JADO). The primary purpose of the JADO project is to align work strands related to integrating assets from across services and countries that may contribute forces to NATO operations. As the JADO project matures, we will distribute all of the lessons learned in upcoming conferences and publications. Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic forced us to cancel last year’s JAPCC A&S Conference. Although we cancelled the annual conference in 2020, our team put together an outstanding read-ahead package with selected articles from a diverse set of authors. We highly encourage you to check out the JAPCC website to review these articles and find new ways to stay connected to the organization.
In closing, I would like to thank our Sponsoring Nations for continuing to support the JAPCC and take this opportunity to encourage other Nations to consider an active role as a Sponsor or Contributing Nation. Presence in the JAPCC provides access to a unique network of experts in the Air and Space domains and allows its members to contribute to work that influences decision making at the highest levels in our Alliance. With that in mind, please take a few minutes to review this document, and contact us with questions, feedback, or requests for support at any time.
Good Reading!
Jeffrey L. Harrigian
General, US AF
Director, JAPCC
