AUSCANNZUKUS is an

abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

for the naval

Command, Control, Communications and Computers Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

(C4) interoperability organization involving the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere is a group of English-speaking world, English-speaking nations that share historical and cultural ties with England, and which today maintain close political, diplomatic and military co-operation. While the nations included in d ...

nations of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is also used as security

caveat Caveat may refer to Latin phrases: * ''Caveat lector'' ("let the reader beware") * '' Caveat emptor'' ("let the buyer beware") * '' Caveat venditor'' ("let the seller beware") Other: * CAVEAT, a Canadian lobby group * ''Caveat'', an album by N ...

in the

UKUSA Community The United Kingdom – United States of America Agreement (UKUSA, ) is a multilateral agreement for cooperation in signals intelligence between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The alliance of intellig ...

, where it is also known as "

Five Eyes The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in sign ...

Objectives, strategies and guiding principles

The organization's vision and mission, objectives, strategies and guiding principles, and Structure are presented on the AUSCANNZUKUS Information Portal.

Objectives

#To achieve internal sharing and understanding of Maritime C4 knowledge. #To produce products and processes to achieve Maritime C4 interoperability. #To increase external sharing and understanding of AUSCANNZUKUS.

Strategies

#Establish C4 policy and standards. #Identify C4 interoperability requirements and risks. #Identify, develop and utilize new technologies. #Exchange information on national C4 capabilities, plans, and projects. #To improve national awareness of AUSCANNZUKUS. #Leverage exercises, experiments and demonstrations to deliver capability. #Inform and influence multi national defence fora.

Guiding principles

#The focus of all activities is to be on the requirements of the naval warfighter. #All knowledge-sharing initiatives are to aim at providing innovative options, which are affordable to all AUSCANNZUKUS navies. #All relevant information is to be shared with appropriate joint and combined organizations. AUSCANZUKUSstructure

Structure

The current AUSCANNZUKUS organization consists of the supervisory board, C4 Committee, and various other subordinate groups.

History

Early in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

communications interoperability between Allied forces was poor. During March 1941 the first high-level proposals to formally structure combined operations between the United States and the United Kingdom were considered; these discussions were the genesis of the current

Combined Communications Electronics Board The Combined Communications-Electronics Board (CCEB) is a five-nation joint military communications-electronics (C-E) organisation whose mission is the coordination of any military C-E matter that is referred to it by a member nation. The member nat ...

(CCEB). The origins of the AUSCANNZUKUS organization arose from dialogue between Admiral

Arleigh Burke Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kenne ...

, USN, and Admiral Lord

Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...

, RN, in 1960. Their intention was to align naval communications policies and prevent, or at least limit, any barriers to interoperability, with the imminent introduction of sophisticated new communications equipment. AUSCANNZUKUS matured to the current five-nation organization in 1980 when New Zealand became a full member. The organization's remit has expanded over the years, and its mission now includes fostering knowledge sharing and C4 interoperability between the navies of the five nations in order to increase operational effectiveness.

Related organizations

AUSCANNZUKUS liaises closely with Washington-based management groups of the

(CCEB), Multinational Interoperability Council (MIC), American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Armies' Interoperability Program (

ABCANZ Armies ABCANZ Armies (formally, the American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Armies' Program) is a program aimed at optimizing interoperability and standardization of training and equipment between the armies of Australia, Canada, New Ze ...

Air and Space Interoperability Council The Air Force Interoperability Council or AFIC is an organisation tasked with enhancing coalition military aviation amongst the "Five Eyes" countries, which consist of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States. The orga ...

(ASIC (Air Force)) and

The Technical Cooperation Program The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) is a long-standing international organisation concerned with cooperation on defence science and technology matters, including national security and civil defence. Its membership comprises Australia, Canada, ...

(TTCP).

References

External links

AUSCANNZUKUS structure
{{Australia–United Kingdom relations Anglosphere International military organizations Military technology Military standardization