US Navy, French Navy And Royal Navy See Eye To Eye On Interoperability
The heads of the three leading NATO navies, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Admiral Mike Gilday, First Sea Lord, Admiral Ben Key, and the Chief of Staff of the French Navy, Admiral Pierre Vandier, met last week in France for the first ever "Paris Naval Conference".
Xavier Vavasseur 24 Jan 2023
Organized by Ifri and the French Navy, the theme of the conference was “the return of naval combat”: The world has entered a new strategic cycle, characterized by the assertion of new powers eager to revise the international order, the predominance of unilateralism, and the increased risk of confrontation between States. In such a context, naval combat appears as a plausible hypothesis that can arise in the context of a high-intensity conflict.
Interoperability and Interchangeability
During a press conference held at the end of the conference, Naval News asked the three head of navies to share their vision of what interoperability and interchangeability is, and if this means “procuring the same piece of kit”.
Admiral Sir Ben Key answered first, explaining that to his mind, interoperability doesn’t mean procuring the same piece of kit “because in doing so, we lose resilience, and we lose broader innovation. And one of the themes of the conference has been about the need to adapt at the speed of relevance”.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/01/us-navy-french-navy-and-royal-navy-see-eye-to-eye-on-interoperability/
