Overview
NATO STANAG 4817 / AEP-105 — Multi-Domain interoperability for unmanned systems (0.3.0-rc4 / SD-3 RC4).
BLUF
Bottom line up front. STANAG 4817 / AEP-105 is the NATO standard that lets any conforming unmanned system and C2 node exchange tasking, status, tracks, and mission data over a single agreed message contract — regardless of vendor, domain, or programming language.
- What it defines: seven CATL message types (tasking, status, tracks, chat) built on one shared data model — see the message model.
- How it travels: a stateless message envelope over a stateful shared picture — see state model.
- Wire formats: the same model in JSON, XML, OMG IDL/DDS, and Protobuf — see encodings and protobuf.
- This release: 0.3.0-rc4 (SD-3 RC4) is authoritative for new work.
- Conformance is testable: validate any message against the published JSON Schema — see getting started.
STANAG 4817 (AEP-105) standardises Multi-Domain interoperability for unmanned systems — the message formats, schemas and IDL that let heterogeneous platforms exchange command, control, telemetry, health and mission data over a common contract.
This site is the developer reference for the 0.3.0-rc4 (SD-3 RC4) release. It combines the machine-generated model reference with hand-written guides, worked examples, and the downloadable release artifacts.
Where things live. The 4817 specification — planning and release candidates — is maintained upstream on NATO ACT TIDE (tide.act.nato.int/git/stanag4817). Implementation, runtime, operational extensions ("Extras"), and enhancements live in our product, R2D2. We operate and extend the standard, then work with TIDE to fold changes back into the spec.
So: for the standard itself, TIDE is authoritative; for implementation and Extras, R2D2 is authoritative. The rest of this site links to R2D2 (or itself), not TIDE.
The three volumes
AEP-105 is published in three volumes. Not every release ships every volume.
| Volume | Subject |
|---|---|
| Volume I | Concepts, governance, and the overall interoperability framework (PDF only). |
| Volume II | HIBW (High-Bandwidth / Wideband) message set — XSD schema + IDL. |
| Volume III | The HIBW message set in JSON and Protobuf encodings — JSON Schema, Protobuf, IDL. |
"HIBW" artifacts (schema / IDL / examples) are the machine-readable payload definitions; the PDFs are the human-readable specification text.
What's here
Getting Started
Validate a message, generate bindings, and pick an encoding.
Message Model
The CATL envelope, base entity model, tasking, and tracks.
Autonomy & Doctrine
How autonomy/ALFUS, ROE, Courses of Action, and tasking logic tie into 4817.
Correlation & Fusion
Deciding two sensors saw the same object, and combining them by inverse-variance fusion — using 4817's native covariance.
API Reference
Every package, struct, union, enum and typedef — with class diagrams.
Examples
40 worked CATL messages in JSON and XML.
Artifacts & Downloads
Schemas, IDL, filter profiles and PDFs in the 0.3.0-rc4 release.
Encodings
JSON, XML and IDL/DDS — how the same model is wired differently.
Release lineage
The specification is mirrored across its draft releases so the evolution stays traceable. 0.3.0-rc4 is the authoritative version for new work; earlier drafts are retained for migration reference only.
| Release | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|
| SD-1 | 0.1.0 | Earliest mirrored draft |
| SD-2 | 0.2.0 | Superseded |
| SD-3 RC4 | 0.3.0-rc4 | Current / authoritative |