The NATO STO Review is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that promotes the outstanding scientific achievements of the STO Collaborative Platform of Work and the CMRE. Devoted to the advancement of science and technology, the Review showcases the work of leading scientists who play a key role in empowering the Alliance’s technological edge. It also provides a unique opportunity for younger members of the STO community to gain recognition within their areas of expertise.


The Review is published biannually online, with the content of each issue determined according to events and themes:

  • Event issues feature papers from STO-organised or co-organised events such as Symposia, Workshops and Specialists’ Meetings. Articles are peer reviewed under the guidance and authority of the respective Panel, Group, CMRE or STO Executive Body (in case of Strategic Initiatives or Cross-domain activities).
  • Theme issues feature papers on topics selected by the STO community to highlight issues of interest to NATO or specific Nations.

Journal Issues

Spring 2024 Issue

For the Spring 2024 Issue, selected papers have been taken from the STO Events listed below.

The Changing Character of Defence and Deterrence: The Power of Analysis

This special edition contains a selection of the papers that were presented at the 17th NATO Operations Research & Analysis (OR&A) Conference held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA, from 30 to 31 October 2023, including the one that was awarded the best full paper distinction.

Fall 2023 Issue

For the Fall 2023 Issue, selected papers have been taken from the STO Events listed below.

Materials and technologies for electro-optical camouflage (AVT-371)

Camouflage and signature management is growing in importance, as more, and more capable sensors are deployed by potential aggressors. Thermal infrared sensors, which until a few years ago were only available to state actors are now inexpensive, and widely available to non-state actors. New technologies, such as short-wave infrared sensors are maturing, and potential threats including hyperspectral sensors and polarization sensitive sensors are being developed.

Military value of graphene technologies (AVT-372)

Graphene technologies continue to mature, and a number of graphene-based materials have reached TRL 9. These are designed for dual-use applications, and include coatings for improved corrosion resistance, lubrication, adhesives, sensors, elastomer composites and polymer composites. Advanced graphene-metal composite materials for electrical applications are also reaching high TRLs. All of these materials have potential applications in military materiel. In addition to these graphene-enhanced dual-use materials, we see there is an additional potential for graphene in several unique military applications, where there is no similar civil application. As identified in the previous activity AVT-ET-213, these include solid propellants, electro-optical sensors and ballistic protection.

SAS-ORA Conference 2022

This event brought together (physically and virtually) 200 participants of the NATO OR&A community from NATO commands and agencies, national defence analysis and research organisations, centres of excellence, academia, and industry to discuss the conference theme “OR&A: new ideas, old realities”. The conference decidedly showed that while OR&A has actively supported defence decision making since at least the 1930’s it continues to evolve and remains highly relevant today. 

Spring 2022 Issue

For the Spring 2022 Issue, selected papers have been taken from the STO Events listed below.

Multi-disciplinary design approaches and performance assessment of future combat aircraft

Future military air vehicles have to be effective and agile for certain operations like Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) missions. This requires a platform design with high survivability and assertiveness resulting into a nonlinear character of the flow field and Stability & Control (S&C) properties. This results in very challenging aerodynamic design, effective control and propulsion system as well as novel structural concepts. The intention of the Specialists' Meeting was to share and expand the knowledge of design and performance prediction capabilities of future agile combat fighter aircraft within the NATO community. 

Enabling Platform Technologies for Resilient Small Satellite Constellations for NATO Missions

Small satellites have advanced over the last decade from experimental platforms to mission capable space assets delivering science and services to academia, commerce and government. Interoperable small satellites are effective for specific military missions and can operate individually, together in constellations, or autonomously in swarms for higher complexity missions.

Multidimensional Radar Imaging for Target Identification

The SET-273 Research Specialists’ Meeting (RSM) on “Radar Imagining for Target Identification” was convened from 25-26 October in Marseille France. Over 86 participants from 14 countries exchanged results of previous SET-250 Multi-Dimensional Radar Collections from 4 radars that had multiple channels and multi-polarization of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) targets. In addition, there were presentations on emerging technologies, closely related to the SM interests.

The 15th NATO Operations Research & Analysis (OR&A) Conference Proceedings: Emerging and Disruptive Technology

The Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and the Science and Technology Organization co-hosted the 15th NATO Operations Research and Analysis (OR&A) Conference on 18 - 20 October 2021. The conference was held virtually due the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This year’s conference theme was “Decision Advantage in The Information Age”. The Programme Committee encouraged the submission of any papers relevant to the theme, particularly decision making and analysis methods related to the NATO enterprise. Papers on other subjects describing emerging OR&A techniques as well as analytical case studies and best practices were also welcome. The annual OR&A conference serves as an integral component to the continuous development of the NATO OR&A Community of Interest. It builds upon previous conferences and workshops, and assembles esteemed members of the profession from across numerous organizations that include NATO commands and agencies, national defense analysis and research organizations, centers of excellence, academia, and industry.

Fall 2021 Issue

Graphene Technologies and Applications for Defence ‒ A Research Specialists’ Meeting (AVT-304 RSM)

This first peer reviewed Journal of the NATO Science and Technology Organization, devoted to the topic of the Graphene research and development applications in defence, is a small sample of the intellectual strength and knowledge drawn from the NATO Collaborative S&T community. That community has been active and developing within NATO for more than 70 years, supporting NATO and the Nations in the field of Defence and Security R&D.

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