OTAN_EN-SCI-271-03.pdf — page 1

STANAG 4586 –Standard Interfaces of UAV Control System (UCS) for 
NATO UAV Interoperability 
Mário Monteiro Marques 
Escola Naval - Afeite 
2810 – 001 Almada 
PORTUGAL 
mario.monteiro.marques@marinha.pt 
ABSTRACT  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are changing the way military and civil operations are carried out. New 
types of vehicles, from different providers, each with its own specifications and characteristic, are 
continuously being developed. This diversity leads to an increased level of difficulty in terms of 
interoperability. The objective of STANAG 4586 is to specify the interfaces that shall be implemented in 
order to achieve the required Level of Interoperability (LOI) between different UAV systems, so as to meet 
the requirements of the concept of operations (CONOPS) defined by NATO countries. STANAG 4586 
establishes a functional architecture for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Control Systems (UCS) with the following 
elements and interfaces: Air Vehicle (AV), Vehicle Specific Module (VSM), Data Link Interface (DLI), Core 
UCS (CUCS), Command and Control Interface (CCI), Human Computer Interface (HCI), and Command 
and Control Interface Specific Module (CCISM).  Besides STANAG 4586, there are already a number of 
existing or emerging Standardization Agreements (STANAGs) that are applicable to UAV´s. They provide 
standards for interoperable data link (STANAG 7085), digital sensor data between the payload and the UAV 
element of the data link (STANAG 7023, 4545, 4607, and 4609), and for on-board recording device(s) 
(STANAG 7024 and 4575).  Although not providing a complete solution for interoperability, STANAG 4586 
is certainly a crucial step taken in that direction, providing a roadmap for future developments. 
1.0 INTRODUCTION 
During the last years, Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAV) became a niche in continuous expansion within 
the aerospace market. With an investment that may exceed billions of dollars by 2015, it is predictable that 
the next generation will possess even more capabilities than today’s [1].  
The UAV´s are changing the way military and civil operations are carried out. This technology is gaining 
increasing awareness and promises to bring a higher level of efficiency to tasks such as data and image 
acquisition of areas of interest, localization and tracking of specific targets (target detection, classification 
and identification), map building, communication relays, pipeline surveying, border patrolling, military 
operations, policing duties, persistent wide area surveillance, search and rescue, and traffic surveillance. 
Therefore, the use of such systems provides a credible alternative to manned aircraft. They operate in 
conditions more dangerous with more autonomy and can be very cost-effective when compared to manned 
aircraft.  
A North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Interoperability Design Study was conducted in the early 
1990s to investigate ways to enable interoperability of electronic systems. One of the approaches considered 
was to mandate that all nations procure and operate the same systems. However, it was emphasised at this 
time that NATO could not mandate interoperability of national reconnaissance systems, but that 
interoperability among national systems would be purely voluntary. It was not considered a good idea to 
have one contractor monopolise the reconnaissance systems in NATO. Instead, a comparison was drawn 
between communications between reconnaissance systems and computer-to-computer communications. By 
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