AAGS (army air-ground system)

AAGS is the abbreviation for army air-ground system. It is a NATO military terminology entry, recorded in the Glossary of NATO abbreviations and acronyms, known as AAP-15. The term belongs to the vocabulary of army and air force coordination and of air-ground operations.

The glossary identifies NASG as the responsible NATO standardization body for the entry. AAGS is easily confused with AGS, which is NATO's Alliance Ground Surveillance system. The two are separate acronyms with separate meanings, and this page keeps them apart.

Where the AAGS entry is defined in AAP-15

NATO's AAP-15 glossary lists the line "AAGS: army air-ground system" among its abbreviations. The edition published by the NATO Archives is the 2013 version, which carries English and French terms side by side. The entry also names NASG as the NATO standardization body responsible for it. That attribution tells a reader which NATO standardization body owns the terminology, and it places AAGS in the doctrine and standardization side of NATO rather than in a specific equipment program.

• Expansion: army air-ground system
• Source document: Glossary of NATO abbreviations and acronyms (AAP-15)
• Responsible standardization body: NASG

The glossary itself is available from the NATO Archives.

AAGS versus AGS: two different NATO terms

NATO uses AGS, not AAGS, as the abbreviation for Alliance Ground Surveillance. The extra letter matters. AAGS names an army air-ground system in the glossary. AGS names a surveillance capability that NATO describes on its own topic page.

Bid teams reading NATO or defence material should check the exact letters before assuming a link between the two. A reference to AGS describes remotely piloted aircraft and their ground stations. A reference to AAGS points to the army air-ground system entry in AAP-15.

What the AGS system includes

Because AGS is the term most often searched alongside AAGS, its facts are worth stating clearly. NATO describes Alliance Ground Surveillance as a system made up of five RQ-4D remotely piloted aircraft, associated ground command-and-control stations, and support facilities. NATO states that it provides near-real-time information and situational awareness about ground and surface entities.

NATO's own material on the system describes it as having air, ground, mission-operations, and support elements. NATO also describes the missions it supports, including protection of ground troops, border control, maritime safety, counter-terrorism, crisis management, and humanitarian assistance. These details are set out in NATO's article on Alliance Ground Surveillance protecting NATO forces.

None of these AGS facts define AAGS. They are included so that a reader who finds both abbreviations can tell which description belongs to which term.

What AAGS means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

AAGS is a NATO glossary term. The glossary entry gives its meaning, but it does not create a Canadian buyer, a procurement vehicle, or a supplier obligation. A bid team that meets the abbreviation in a document should read the definitions and requirements in that solicitation itself, and should treat the AAP-15 entry as the reference for what the letters stand for.

• Read AAGS as army air-ground system.
• Do not substitute AGS, Alliance Ground Surveillance, when the document says AAGS.
• Take any specific requirement from the solicitation text, not from the glossary entry.