TL;DR
NATO's assistant secretary general for cyber and digital transformation told RUSI that the alliance must accelerate development of sovereign cloud platforms to keep pace with adversaries using AI, autonomous systems and quantum research. He framed cloud adoption as a strategic necessity, arguing that speed, collaboration and designed sovereignty are essential to collective defence.
What happened
At a Royal United Services Institute event last week, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Cyber and Digital Transformation Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe outlined an urgent push for cloud-based, sovereign digital infrastructure. Citing the Ukraine war as evidence of how technology—drones and AI-enabled targeting among them—reshapes conflict, he argued that victory now depends on who can connect, interpret and act on data fastest. Ellermann-Kingombe described three pillars of digital sovereignty: control over data access and location; operational sovereignty governing who runs systems; and technological sovereignty to sustain operations if a provider exits or is sanctioned. He warned that pursuing full sovereignty involves trade-offs, including lower scalability and slower innovation, and therefore NATO will need a mix of globally connected clouds and isolated or air-gapped environments for sensitive workloads. He urged faster procurement, greater engagement with industry and startups, and designs that balance national control with alliance-wide interoperability and trust.
Why it matters
- Faster, sovereign cloud platforms could determine who can exploit battlefield data and make quicker decisions.
- Designing for sovereignty forces trade-offs that will affect scalability, innovation pace and where workloads run.
- Industry and startup engagement plus procurement reform are presented as necessary to deliver timely capabilities.
- Adversaries’ investments in AI, machine learning and emerging tech raise the stakes for allied digital transformation.
Key facts
- Speaker: Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Cyber and Digital Transformation.
- Venue: Royal United Services Institute (RUSI); remarks given 'last week' relative to the report.
- He said the Ukraine war shows technological tools—from drones to AI for targeting—affect battlefield outcomes.
- Ellermann-Kingombe set out three dimensions of sovereignty: control of data location/access, operational sovereignty, and technological sovereignty.
- He warned that full sovereignty can reduce scalability and slow innovation, so NATO will use multiple models including connected clouds and air-gapped environments.
- He highlighted cooperation between US hyperscalers and trusted European operators as one model for jurisdictionally isolated clouds, citing activity in Belgium.
- He stressed urgency, collaboration across industry, academia and allies, and designing systems that strengthen allied trust.
- The NATO 2030 strategy includes deterrence, resilience and tech investment; the 2030 plan predates the Ukraine war and mentions sovereignty but not explicitly cloud sovereignty.
- Days after his remarks the UK announced a rapid £140 million boost for drone and counter-drone technology, and UK Defence Investment has an annual ring-fenced budget of at least £500 million.
- UK investments noted in the source include more than £25 million for an uncrewed AI submarine and about £5 million seed investment in autonomous land platforms.
What to watch next
- Progress on NATO or member-state deployments of jurisdictionally isolated cloud offerings (not confirmed in the source).
- Changes to allied procurement processes and timelines to speed delivery of sovereign cloud capabilities (not confirmed in the source).
- Further public examples of industry partnerships—especially US hyperscalers working with European operators—to deliver jurisdictionally constrained clouds (not confirmed in the source).
Quick glossary
- Cloud sovereignty: The ability of a state or organisation to control where data is stored, who can access it, and how cloud services are operated within legal and operational boundaries.
- Air-gapped environment: A computing system physically isolated from unsecured networks, used to protect highly sensitive data and operations from external access.
- Hyperscaler: A very large cloud services provider that operates extensive, global-scale infrastructure and platforms for compute and storage.
- Operational sovereignty: Control over who operates systems and how operational decisions are executed, often including personnel and processes.
- Quantum-resilient cryptography: Cryptographic algorithms designed to resist decryption attempts by quantum computers or future quantum-capable adversaries.
Reader FAQ
What did NATO’s official say was most important?
He said speed in building sovereign cloud capabilities is existential because faster connection and action on data decides outcomes.
What is meant by 'sovereign' cloud in this context?
Ellermann-Kingombe described sovereignty as control over data location and access, how systems are operated, and maintaining capability if a provider withdraws.
Is NATO planning a single, alliance-wide sovereign cloud?
Not confirmed in the source.
Why does NATO need industry and startups involved?
The speaker argued industry and startups bring faster development cycles and ideas, but that procurement and bureaucracies must adapt to engage them effectively.
SECURITY 19 NATO's battle for cloud sovereignty: Speed is existential Build a digital backbone faster than adversaries can evolve or lose the information war Joe Fay Wed 17 Dec 2025 // 14:54 UTC NATO…
Sources
- NATO's battle for cloud sovereignty: Speed is existential
- NATO's battle for cloud sovereignty: speed is existential
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