The Five Eyes Air Force Interoperability Council (AFIC) is a formal military organisation, consisting of the "

Five Eyes The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an Anglosphere intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are party to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperat ...

" countries,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The organisation is responsible for enhancing Air Force

interoperability Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader de ...

amongst member nations' Air Forces. The use of the term "

" stems from the informal name for the intelligence sharing network consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States. It was previously known as the Air and Space Interoperability Council (ASIC) and the Air Standardization Coordinating Committee (ASCC).

History

In 1948, following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Air Standards Coordination Committee (ASCC) was formed by the Air Force Chiefs of Staff of

, the

and the

to further those nations' capabilities to conduct combined air operations and to provide each other with certain essential services, namely the capability for aircraft to be cross-serviced. In 1951, ASCC was expanded to include the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

joined in 1964 and the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

followed in 1965. Perhaps the most prominent role of ASCC/AFIC has been the creation and maintenance of the reporting names for aircraft from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, other

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

countries and the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. These reporting names are used by the militaries of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and other members of the broader western alliance. An external review of ASCC was undertaken in 2004 to examine the organisational processes and structures. As a result of this review, in 2005, ASCC was restructured, downsized and renamed the "Air and Space Interoperability Council" (ASIC). In 2016 the Air Chiefs of the "Five Eyes" nations recommended that in order to increase ASIC’s operational relevance, it should refresh its principles, refocus its activities, and consider updating its name. Following this review, in 2017, ASIC realigned itself to concentrate on Air Force interoperability and changed its name to the "Five Eyes Air Force Interoperability Council" (AFIC).

Operations

The "Five Eyes" AFIC identifies and resolves current and future air force interoperability challenges by leveraging collective expertise. In a nutshell, AFIC enhances "Five Eyes" air power by delivering improved air force interoperability. AFIC does this by facilitating working groups to address identified

friction in "Five Eyes" air operations. These working groups seek to generate mutually agreed "Air Standards" (AIRSTDS) which can be applied to "Five Eyes" Air Forces' operations and incorporated into National air publications and doctrine. Additionally, AFIC shares information on "Five Eyes" tactics, training and procedures (TTPs) through "Information Publications"; facilitates the loaning of equipment and materiel between nations for test and evaluation purposes; and, provides a management architecture to orchestrate stakeholder participation and deliver organisational outcomes.

AFIC management structure

The AFIC management structure consists of a four-tiered system. "National Directors" (ND) are appointed at the 1 or 2-star officer level from each member nation. These NDs provide the strategic direction to the organisation and authorise the annual tasking and lines of operation for the Council. Additionally, these NDs will serve for 1-year as Chairperson, which rotates annually amongst the member nations. A

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

-based "Management Committee" (MC) oversees the day-to-day operation and performs the AFIC's management functions by implementing the mutually agreed strategic direction, chairing working groups and acting as the primary conduit between the Council's operational tiers. The MC is typically established at the O-5 (OF4) level by representatives from each member nation, usually on a 3-year assignment. "Working Groups" (WGs) are established across warfighting and supporting functional areas to provide an operator-level approach to improve "Five Eyes" interoperability. Nations appoint a "Head of Delegation" (HoD) who represents their interests within the WG, in addition to various "Subject Matter Experts" (SMEs) who help to tackle the specific interoperability issues that have been identified. Finally, each nation has a "National Program Manager" (NPM) who is responsible to their respective ND for their own national AFIC program, and coordinating their HoD and SME support to the Working Groups. They also provide administrative support to the ND and MC representative from within their respective nation.

Current AFIC working groups

* Agile Combat Support (ACS). ACS provides the essential capabilities and functions to establish, operate, sustain and close an airbase. The ACS WG focusses on "Five Eyes" interoperability for expeditionary and agile airfield operations; combined basing operations; and support to future capabilities such as Agile Combat Employment (ACE). * Air Mobility (AM). AM is the movement of personnel, equipment and materiel, by air, both inter and intra-

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

. The AM WG focuses on "Five Eyes" interoperability across a range of Air Mobility roles, including:

air transport Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as hot ai ...

aeromedical evacuation Aeromedical evacuation (AE) is the use of military transport aircraft to carry wounded personnel. The first recorded British ambulance flight took place in 1917 in the Sinai Peninsula some 30 miles south of El Arish when a Royal Aircraft ...

, air drop (both cargo and personnel) and

air-to-air refueling Aerial refueling ( en-us), or aerial refuelling ( en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to an ...

operations. * Aerospace Medicine (ASM). ASM encompasses all aspects of aviation medicine by promoting information exchange and developing/maintaining standards. The ASM WG focuses on "Five Eyes" interoperability for aeromedical evacuation, aerospace medical personnel (credentials/training), air mission support (aircrew protection/training), and human performance. * Airworthiness (Aw). The mandate of the Aw WG is to ensure "Five Eyes" air operations are conducted within an acceptable level of safety and, where possible, identify and realise areas of mutual benefit. * Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS). The C-UAS WG focuses on improving the interoperability of our "Five Eyes" security forces' TTPs and assets which protect our airbases against the UAS threat. * Fuels, Lubricants and Gases (FLG). The FLG WG addresses essential capabilities that include the provision of aviation FLG and associated products. The FLG WG focuses on improving the interoperability of our

fuels A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

, oils, lubricants and gases by standardising techniques and procedures for the testing, certification, and acceptance of aviation FLG (including sustainable aviation fuels (SAF)). * Operational Training Infrastructure (OTI). OTI comprises the framework, resources and training environments required to accomplish mission essential task training in support of operational force

combat readiness Combat readiness is a condition of the armed forces and their constituent units and formations, warships, aircraft, weapon systems or other military technology and equipment to perform during combat military operations, or functions consistent ...

. The interoperability focus for the OTI WG is to increase operational training opportunities in the live, synthetic and blended (LSB) environments between "Five Eyes" air forces by cohering our LSB activity and exploiting simulated and synthetically enhanced live training. * Combined Joint All-Domain Command & Control (CJADC2). The CJADC2 WG aims to synchronise and enable the integration of "Five Eyes" partners to deliver CJADC2 within the air domain, and to demonstrate this C2 capability within scheduled

wargaming A normal wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to st ...

and

exercise Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...

activity, coordinated alongside Joint efforts and activities.

AFIC products

AFIC's primary outputs are interoperability documents focused upon increasing operational effectiveness: * Air Standards (AIRSTD). An AFIC AIRSTD is a formally documented declaration between "Five Eyes" nations that their respective National procedures reflect the detailed

military doctrine Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. A military doctrine outlines what military means should be used, how forces should be structured, where forces shou ...

, TTPs and/or materiel thereby enhancing their ability to conduct Joint and Combined air operations. * Information Publications (INFOPUB). An AFIC INFOPUB is developed where there is no standardised procedure between Nations, but there is a perceived benefit for "Five Eyes" partners to be aware of each other's

best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to alternatives because it tends to produce superior results. Best practices are used to achieve quality as an alternative to mandatory standards. Best practice ...

Related organisations

AFIC maintains links with other combined interoperability bodies – harmonizing activities and working in collaboration on major projects. These include: *

ABCANZ Armies ABCANZ Armies (formally, the American, British, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand Armies' Program) is a program aimed at optimizing interoperability and standardization of training and equipment between the armies of Australia, Canada, New Ze ...

Program (land forces equivalent) *

ANZUS The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is a collective security agreement between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States that was signed in 1951, and from which New Zealand has been partially su ...

– NATO equivalent linking Australia, New Zealand and the US. *

AUSCANNZUKUS AUSCANNZUKUS is an abbreviation for the naval Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) interoperability organization involving the Anglosphere nations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It is a ...

(naval equivalent) *

Combined Communications Electronics Board The Combined Communications-Electronics Board (CCEB) is a five-nation joint Military communications, military communications-electronics (C-E) organisation whose mission is the coordination of any military C-E matter that is referred to it by a mem ...

(military communications equivalent) *

– equivalent signals intelligence network *

– as Canada, the UK and US also belong to NATO, cross functional networking with this organisation is ongoing. *

The Technical Cooperation Program The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) is a long-standing international organisation concerned with cooperation on defence science and technology matters, including national security and civil defence. Its membership comprises Australia, Canada, ...

(equivalent in military technology and science)

Notes and references

{{Reflist

External links

Royal Australian Air Force (Australia)

Royal Canadian Air Force (Canada)

Royal New Zealand Air Force (New Zealand)

Royal Air Force (United Kingdom)

US Air Force (United States)
Anglosphere Space science organizations Royal Air Force Royal Australian Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force Royal New Zealand Air Force United States Air Force Military standardization

History

Operations

AFIC management structure

Current AFIC working groups

AFIC products

Related organisations

See also

Notes and references

External links