Eight NATO allies launch HALO satellite constellation initiative

Eight NATO allies have launched a project to develop a multinational satellite constellation called HALO (Hybrid Alliance Layered Operations in Space), announced at the NATO summit in Ankara. The initiative includes Denmark, Canada, Finland, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Turkey, and aims to improve connectivity and integration of sovereign military satellites into a networked constellation for high-speed communications, intelligence and missile tracking. NATO deputy secretary-general Radmila Šekerinska said individual national satellite constellations are vulnerable to cyberattacks, jamming or physical destruction, and are too slow to relay large amounts of data. Separately at the summit, Canada became the 15th member of NATO's STARLIFT launch capabilities initiative, Spain joined the Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space initiative, and Turkey announced plans for two additional high-resolution satellites.