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The largest field command in the U.S. Marine Corps is updating equipment to enhance command and control operations. The upgrades include installing cutting-edge technology that will improve control of troops and communications among the various command levels, as well as integrating better intelligence capabilities and serving as a convergence point during critical missions.

Improving effective intelligence links with dozens of disparate nations may be the key to prevailing on the Asia-Pacific front in the Global War on Terrorism. A changing enemy, diverse allies and emerging technologies are bringing about a sea change in intelligence operations throughout the Pacific theater.

How better to meet the needs of an ideal air defense ship than to put the land-based S-300 system that has protected Peking and Moscow on a large guided missile destroyer? China is sending the two newest, largest 6,000-ton 051C guided missile destroyers (DDGs)—hulls 115 and 116—to be flagships for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) North Fleet. The 051C, which began construction prior to the later 052A and 052B ships, will be a new fleet command ship with air defense and coordination capabilities.

A proposed constellation of reconnaissance satellites soon may allow European governments to acquire and share satellite imagery rapidly. The multinational effort seeks to launch a new generation of imaging spacecraft to replace aging platforms. The program will permit participating nations to access individual satellites and sensors to meet their intelligence requirements.

The U.S. Pacific Command is reaching out to former enemies and even potential adversaries to help maintain security in the vast Asia-Pacific region. Some of these efforts are aimed at prevailing in the Global War on Terrorism, while others simply are part of a long-term effort to keep the dozens of nations that make up the region from going to war with one another.

International forces operating in Afghanistan are using a new dedicated communications backbone that is being deployed across the nation. The network consists of point-to-point radio links, satellite communications and landlines providing connectivity across the theater and reach-back to national headquarters.

Long-neutral Sweden faces major defense changes as it shifts its military emphasis from homeland defense to coalition operations. A force built around defending the territory of a single Scandinavian nation now must open up to interoperate fully with other nations in distant locales. This is bringing about changes in funding, logistics and force size.

An innovative software-defined radio soon will help the Spanish government test and develop new capabilities for its military communications systems. Researchers will be able to evaluate software and equipment quickly so systems can be modernized and the military can participate in multinational research programs.

Finland's military is facing its own force transformation as it alters its structure and its mission. The Baltic nation is looking at broad-based equipment modernization, substantial personnel cuts and a network-centric architecture to define its armed forces.

The French military has launched two programs to modernize its tactical and strategic communications systems. One effort will equip army logistics units with a wireless network allowing commanders to track supplies and to access the national military intranet. The second program, now in its preliminary phase, will link all of France's individual military networks into a single system.