Scenario 07: Coalition air operations data sharing

Overview

Coalition air operations require real-time coordination of airspace, flight plans, targeting data, and air defence information across multiple nations. Each nation operates different aircraft with varying capabilities, some of which are highly classified (stealth, electronic warfare, special operations). The challenge is sharing enough information for safe airspace deconfliction and mission coordination whilst protecting sensitive capabilities and operational security.

Problem statement

Current coalition air operations use lowest-common-denominator information sharing, where sensitive capabilities are simply not shared, creating coordination gaps and safety risks. Nations need to share flight plans and coordination data broadly whilst restricting sensitive capability information and targeting data based on mission type, nationality, and need-to-know. Real-time updates must propagate quickly whilst maintaining appropriate access controls.

Actors

Participating air forces (4-6 nations)

Roles: Fighter aircraft, bombers, tankers, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance), transport
Capabilities: Range from conventional to highly classified (stealth, special operations)
Data Contributions: Flight plans, sensor data, targeting information, air defence status

Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC)

Role: Coordinate all coalition air operations
Personnel: Air battle managers, intelligence officers, targeting officers from multiple nations
Responsibilities: Airspace management, mission planning, real-time coordination

Mission Types

Air Defence: Protect coalition forces from air threats
Close Air Support (CAS): Support ground forces
Strategic Strike: Attack high-value targets
ISR: Intelligence collection
Special Operations: Covert missions
Air Refuelling: Support extended-range missions

Ground Forces

Role: Request close air support
Data Needs: Aircraft availability, response times, weapons capabilities
Constraints: Should not see strategic targeting or special operations details

Scenario flow

Phase 1: Mission Planning

Context: CAOC plans 24-hour air tasking order (ATO) with 200+ sorties from 6 nations.

Flight Plan Data:

Mission: CAS-001
Aircraft: UK Typhoon (4x aircraft)
Classification: SECRET
Releasability: All coalition partners
Data: Takeoff time, route, loiter area, weapons load, fuel status
Purpose: Close air support for ground forces

Mission: STRIKE-042
Aircraft: US B-2 Stealth Bomber (2x aircraft)
Classification: TOP SECRET//SI
Releasability: US EYES ONLY
Data: [REDACTED - Stealth routing and capabilities]
Purpose: Strategic strike (target details restricted)
Coordination Data (SECRET): Airspace reservation, time on target, egress route

Mission: ISR-015
Aircraft: French Rafale with reconnaissance pod
Classification: SECRET
Releasability: UK, US, FR
Data: Flight route, sensor coverage area, collection priorities
Purpose: Intelligence collection (results restricted to UK, US, FR)

Phase 2: Airspace Deconfliction

Context: All aircraft need airspace deconfliction to prevent mid-air collisions, but not all need to know mission details.

Shared Deconfliction Data (SECRET - All Coalition): - Aircraft callsign (generic, not revealing mission) - Altitude block - Geographic area - Time window - IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) codes

Restricted Mission Data: - Specific target (restricted by mission type) - Weapons load (restricted by mission type) - Sensor capabilities (restricted by nationality) - Routing details for stealth aircraft (highly restricted)

Access Control: - ✅ All coalition air battle managers see deconfliction data - ✅ UK CAS mission details visible to ground forces requesting support - ❌ US stealth bomber routing hidden from coalition partners - ✅ French ISR collection areas visible to UK, US, FR intelligence officers - ❌ Strategic strike targets hidden from CAS pilots

Phase 3: Real-Time Mission Execution

Context: Missions executing, real-time updates required for safety and coordination.

Dynamic Updates:

CAS Mission Update (Broadcast to All):

Mission: CAS-001
Update: Diverted to new target area
New Location: GRID 12345678
Time: Immediate
Classification: SECRET
Releasability: All coalition

Stealth Mission Update (Restricted):

Mission: STRIKE-042
Update: Mission delayed 30 minutes
Airspace Reservation: Extended to 0245Z
Classification: TOP SECRET//SI (mission details)
Classification: SECRET (airspace reservation)
Releasability: US EYES ONLY (mission details)
Releasability: All coalition (airspace reservation)

ISR Mission Update (Selective):

Mission: ISR-015
Update: Sensor malfunction, returning to base
Route: [DETAILS]
Classification: SECRET
Releasability: UK, US, FR (mission details)
Releasability: All coalition (airspace clearance for return)

Context: Intelligence identifies time-sensitive target. Requires rapid coordination.

Target Data:

Target: Enemy air defence radar
Location: GRID 98765432
Classification: SECRET
Releasability: All coalition (target location)
Releasability: UK, US only (intelligence source)
Priority: High
Time Sensitivity: 2 hours

Targeting Coordination: - ✅ All coalition strike aircraft see target location and priority - ✅ UK and US see intelligence source (SIGINT intercept) - ❌ Other nations see target but not source - ✅ CAS aircraft notified to avoid area during strike - ✅ Air defence assets notified of friendly strike

Phase 5: Post-Mission Reporting

Context: Missions complete, battle damage assessment and lessons learned required.

Mission Reports:

CAS Mission Report (Widely Shared):

Mission: CAS-001
Result: Successful engagement
Weapons Expended: 2x Paveway IV
Battle Damage: Enemy position destroyed
Classification: SECRET
Releasability: All coalition
Lessons Learned: Coordination with ground forces excellent

Stealth Mission Report (Highly Restricted):

Mission: STRIKE-042
Result: [REDACTED]
Classification: TOP SECRET//SI
Releasability: US EYES ONLY
Coordination Lessons (SECRET): Airspace deconfliction worked well

ISR Mission Report (Selective):

Mission: ISR-015
Result: Sensor malfunction prevented collection
Classification: SECRET
Releasability: UK, US, FR (mission details)
Releasability: All coalition (maintenance lessons learned)

Operational constraints

Real-Time Performance: Updates must propagate in seconds, not minutes
Safety Critical: Airspace deconfliction errors can cause mid-air collisions
Mission Security: Sensitive capabilities must not be revealed
Dynamic Updates: Flight plans change frequently during execution
Mixed Classification: Same mission has data at multiple classification levels
Selective Sharing: Different audiences need different subsets of data
Audit Requirements: All data access logged for safety investigations
Graceful Degradation: System must work if one nation's infrastructure fails

Technical challenges

Real-Time Access Control: How to enforce complex policies with minimal latency?
Selective Data Sharing: How to share deconfliction data whilst hiding mission details?
Dynamic Updates: How to propagate updates to appropriate audiences quickly?
Mixed Classification: How to handle data with multiple classification levels?
Safety vs Security: How to balance airspace safety with operational security?
Capability Protection: How to coordinate without revealing sensitive capabilities?
Audit Performance: How to log all access without impacting real-time performance?
Federation: How to coordinate across multiple national air operations centres?

Acceptance criteria

AC1: Airspace Deconfliction

All coalition aircraft visible for deconfliction
Deconfliction data (altitude, area, time) shared broadly
Mission details (target, weapons, capabilities) restricted appropriately
Real-time updates propagate quickly (seconds)
Conflicts detected and alerted automatically

AC2: Mission-Type-Based Access

CAS mission details visible to ground forces
Strategic strike targets restricted to strike planners
ISR collection areas visible to intelligence consumers
Special operations missions highly restricted
Air refuelling coordination visible to all aircraft

AC3: Capability Protection

Stealth aircraft routing hidden from coalition partners
Electronic warfare capabilities restricted
Sensor capabilities restricted by nationality
Weapons capabilities shared appropriately for coordination
Coordination possible without revealing sensitive capabilities

AC4: Real-Time Updates

Flight plan changes propagate in seconds
Mission diversions communicated immediately
Target updates distributed to appropriate aircraft
Airspace reservations updated dynamically
All updates logged for audit

Same mission has data at multiple classification levels
Deconfliction data (SECRET) shared broadly
Mission details (TOP SECRET) restricted appropriately
Intelligence sources protected whilst sharing targets
Lessons learned shared whilst protecting capabilities

AC6: Ground Force Coordination

Ground forces see available CAS aircraft
Ground forces see response times and weapons
Ground forces cannot see strategic strike details
Ground forces cannot see special operations missions
CAS requests routed to appropriate aircraft

AC7: Multi-National Coordination

Each nation operates independent air operations centre
Coordination works if one nation's centre unavailable
No central authority required for access decisions
Each nation maintains sovereignty over their data
Federated coordination across national centres

AC8: Comprehensive Audit Trail

All data access logged (successful and denied)
Logs include: user, mission, timestamp, data accessed
Audit logs support safety investigations
Audit logs support security investigations
Real-time logging without performance impact

AC9: Safety Assurance

Airspace conflicts detected automatically
Alerts generated for potential collisions
Deconfliction data always available (fail-safe)
Mission security never compromises safety
Emergency procedures override access controls

AC10: Performance

Access decisions in milliseconds
Updates propagate in seconds
Scales to hundreds of concurrent missions
Supports real-time mission execution
Minimal latency for safety-critical data

Success metrics

Deconfliction Accuracy: All aircraft visible for airspace management
Update Latency: Real-time updates propagate in seconds
Capability Protection: Sensitive capabilities not revealed to unauthorised personnel
Safety: No airspace conflicts due to information sharing gaps
Mission Effectiveness: Coordination enables successful missions
Audit Completeness: All access attempts logged
User Satisfaction: Air battle managers find system effective

Example use cases

Use case 1: Close air support coordination

Ground Forces: Request CAS for troops in contact CAS Aircraft: UK Typhoon diverted from patrol Coordination: Ground forces see aircraft availability, weapons, response time Restriction: Ground forces do not see other missions or strategic targets

Use case 2: Stealth strike coordination

Stealth Aircraft: US B-2 conducting strategic strike Coordination: Airspace reserved, other aircraft notified to avoid area Restriction: Coalition partners see airspace reservation but not mission details, routing, or target

Use case 3: ISR collection coordination

ISR Aircraft: French Rafale collecting intelligence Coordination: Collection area shared with intelligence consumers (UK, US, FR) Restriction: Other coalition partners see aircraft for deconfliction but not collection details

Out of scope

Tactical data links (Link 16, etc.) - separate system
Air defence weapon systems - separate system
Ground-based air defence coordination - separate system
Long-term mission planning (beyond 24-hour ATO)

Scenario 01: Coalition strategic sharing - long-term intelligence sharing
Scenario 05: Mission-based sharing - time-limited operations
Scenario 06: Intelligence fusion - ISR data fusion

Key assumptions

Real-Time Requirements: Sub-second latency acceptable for safety-critical data
Classification Equivalence: Nations agree on classification level mappings
Trust Framework: Nations trust CAOC infrastructure
Technical Capability: Nations can integrate with CAOC systems
Safety Priority: Safety takes precedence over security when necessary

Risk considerations

Security Risks: - Sensitive capabilities revealed through coordination data - Mission details leaked to unauthorised personnel - Targeting data compromised - Audit logs reveal operational patterns

Operational Risks: - Over-restrictive access controls create coordination gaps - Real-time performance insufficient for safety - System failure during mission execution - Airspace conflicts due to information sharing failures

Mitigation Strategies: - Separate deconfliction data from mission details - Fail-safe design for safety-critical data - Redundant systems for real-time coordination - Regular exercises to test coordination procedures - Continuous monitoring and performance optimisation

For maritime equivalents, see Scenario 08. For general coalition sharing, see Scenario 01.