TL;DR
Eight NATO allies launched HALO at the Ankara summit to network their military satellites into a mega-constellation for comms and missile tracking.
Eight NATO allies have launched an initiative to connect their military satellites into a single networked mega-constellation, marking the Alliance's most ambitious move yet to treat space as shared operational infrastructure rather than a collection of national assets. The programme, called HALO (Hybrid Alliance Layered Operations in Space), was announced at the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in Ankara on Tuesday and includes Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Türkiye. It aims to enable high-speed communications, intelligence sharing, and missile tracking across national boundaries.
HALO is designed to overcome the cost and coverage limitations of single-nation satellite fleets by integrating sovereign, nationally owned spacecraft into a common network. Each country will retain ownership and control of its own satellites, a distinction that makes the project politically viable but architecturally complex. The structure means no single ally hands over military space assets to a shared command, while still allowing the Alliance to operate them as if they were one fleet.
The Ankara forum also produced a wave of other space commitments. Canada became the 15th member of STARLIFT, a multinational initiative launched in October 2024 that is building a network of spaceports across Alliance territory so allies can launch assets at short notice in a crisis. German launch company Isar Aerospace signed a contract with Canada's Maritime Launch Services to secure access to Spaceport Nova Scotia, adding a North American launch site to its options.
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Spain became the 19th country to join the Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space programme, the largest multinational investment in space-based capabilities in NATO's history. APSS reached initial operational capability in December 2025 and runs a virtual constellation of national and commercial surveillance satellites codenamed Aquila. Spain will contribute coastal surveillance imagery from its Atlantic Constellation satellites.
Türkiye, one of HALO's eight founding members, separately announced plans for two additional high-resolution reconnaissance satellites to follow the IMECE Earth observation satellite it already operates. The country is also investing in low-orbit satellites for military communications and early warning radar systems, expanding what is already one of the more active national space programmes on NATO's southern flank.
The flurry of announcements reflects how quickly space has moved from a supporting role to a central pillar of Alliance defence planning. Where five years ago NATO had no multinational space programmes of this scale, it now runs HALO for satellite networking, APSS for surveillance, STARLIFT for launch access, and cybersecurity missions designed to protect the spacecraft themselves. Whether the political will to integrate sovereign assets into shared networks survives contact with national defence budgets and procurement timelines is the test that comes next.