Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Base Auckland –
Joint Task Force-Space Defense Commercial Operations Cell (JCO) welcomes the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) RNZAF Base Auckland into its global construct, Sept. 21, 2023.
JCO-NZL will serve as the JCO-Pacific Coordinator and will coordinate crew scheduling, training, procedures and tools requirements with national cells supporting JCO-Pacific to ensure stable JCO operations. Several NZDF personnel are also certified as JCO instructors to enable their organic training and assist with JCO training in the Pacific region.
As part of its evaluation process, the NZDF has been an active contributor to JCO development since 2022 and has a growing role within the global construct.
Multi-national collaboration is an essential element of the global JCO initiative amongst allied and partner nations.
“We’re excited to welcome the Pacific Cell and New Zealand into JCO Global Operations,” said U.S. Space Force Brig. Gen. Bythewood, JTF-SD commander. “This is a significant milestone that will provide 24-hour support, Monday through Friday to commercial Space Domain Awareness in support of the NSDC’s Protect and Defend mission.”
JCO-US was established in 2020 to augment the JTF-SD’s NSDC’s protect-and-defend mission, providing unclassified indications of orbital activity derived through public research, commercial SDA sensors and analytical tools.
"It has been truly amazing working with the JCO-NZL team," said U.S. Space Force Capt. Carl Poole, JCO-US site lead. "They have greatly expanded the JCO global construct with unique insights on training and partner interactions."
JCO-NZL, as with all JCO national elements, will continue to be supported by U.S. Space Command with support from JCO-US, U.S. Air National Guard (ANG), U.S. Reserve, and other allied trained members.
The JCO anticipates moving to 24/5 global operations with partner nations, including NZL., in fiscal year 2024.