ACT Highlights How NATO Centres of Excellence Strengthen Resilience and Enable Collective Defence
Date: (25-08-2026)
Today, given the security environment, the effective defence of NATO countries depends not only on military capabilities, but also on resilient institutions, infrastructure, emergency services and strong civil-military cooperation. Together, these elements determine whether an Ally can withstand disruption, support collective defence and continue functioning during crisis or conflict. The same relationships shape the Alliance’s approach to Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), which entails the orchestration of military activities across all domains, synchronised with relevant non-military activity, and it is precisely whole-of-society preparedness that makes this synchronisation possible.
Within the COEs Network, various stakeholders work across these shared civilian and military challenges, and CMDR COE is proudly one of them. Our work fully supports this whole-of-society approach in practical terms by bringing civilian and military stakeholders together to test coordination, decision-making and crisis-response mechanisms in realistic, complex scenarios.
In its article, ACT underscored that recognising a system’s vulnerability does not resolve who will respond, what information they need or how support will move between organisations. This is where CMDR COE steps in.
Among the examples of our activities highlighted by NATO ACT is the South-Eastern Europe Simulation Exercise 2025, where CMDR COE helped deliver a complex scenario centred on a major blackout affecting energy, transport, communications, healthcare, border movement and public trust. By integrating modelling and simulation capabilities, the exercise enabled participants to test information-sharing, decision-making and cross-border assistance in a demanding crisis environment. ACT also recognised CMDR COE’s contribution to NATO’s Layered Resilience efforts.
Through exercises, education and training, experimentation and expert support, CMDR COE continues to strengthen preparedness, interoperability and resilience across the Alliance, contributing directly to NATO’s ability to deter, defend and respond effectively to crises and emerging security challenges.
Read the full NATO ACT article: How NATO Centres of Excellence Strengthen Resilience and Enable Collective Defence - NATO's ACT
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