NEWPORT, R.I. –
In October, a German navy ship completed sensor accuracy testing at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) for the first time, marking a milestone for both Germany and NATO’s long-running Fleet Operational Readiness Accuracy Check Sites (FORACS) program.
The combat oiler Federal German Ship (FGS) Berlin (A 1411) arrived in the U.S. as part of the U.S. Navy’s 250th anniversary celebrations, but the visit also supported a critical readiness requirement to verify the ship’s navigation and combat systems against NATO standards. The ship, commissioned in April 2001, is the lead of the Berlin-class replenishment ship, the largest vessel in the German navy.
The NATO FORACS AUTEC (NFA) team conducted the evaluation through a two-part Sensor Accuracy Test (SAT). The first part took place during an in-port phase in Miami, Florida, followed by two days at sea on AUTEC’s precision tracking range in the Bahamas. The NFA team embedded aboard the ship to install test equipment and measure the performance of radars, optical sensors, inertial navigation systems and laser range finders.
“For us, it was a great experience,” said Steven Petrison of NUWC Division Newport’s Ranges, Engineering and Analysis Department, who is the NFA range manager assigned at Division Newport’s West Palm Beach detachment in Florida. “The crew was very professional and enthusiastic. There was some apprehension at the start, but as we moved through the test events it became clear that everything was working the way it was supposed to. Everyone walked away happy with the results.”
Petrison has worked with AUTEC for 15 years and FORACS for the past decade. Other NFA team members include Mike Helton of Division Newport’s Ranges, Engineering and Analysis Department; support contractors, Edger Lopez, Alana Brandt, Jeff Burkey and Kirs Olsen; and Kjell Hakon from NATO FORACS Norway.
The NATO FORACS ranges are located in Andros Island in the Bahamas, the city of Stavanger in Norway and Souda Bay, Greece. The program ensures that an allied ship can be evaluated at any of the three sites and produce consistent results across the board — a principle that underpins NATO maritime interoperability.
With the FGS Berlin’s visit to the AUTEC range, Germany has now tested a naval vessel at all three NATO FORACS locations.
Following the conclusion of the tests, the NFA team returned to its West Palm Beach office to analyze and process the collected data and a detailed report covering radar, navigation, optical and acoustic sensor performance was delivered to German stakeholders.
The NFA team received positive written feedback from the crew of the FGS Berlin.
“Thanks to the NFA team for the excellent, professional and smooth cooperation,” wrote Cmdr. Rico Jarschke, Germany’s test liaison.
Additional test liaisons from Germany included Cmdr. Michael Sanders, and subject matter experts Bjarne Hager and Florian Beinhorn.
The successful test is already prompting discussions about future German participation at AUTEC.
“They were the first German ship here and it looks like there may be more to follow,” Petrison said.
NATO FORACS is one of the alliance’s longest-running technical programs, providing standardized testing for shipboard sensors, navigation equipment and combat systems.
The effort began in 1971, when NATO approved a study group to outline requirements for a multinational accuracy-checking range. Three years later, seven nations — Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, the U.K. and the U.S. — signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing the project, and in 1977 the NATO FORACS Office was established. The first test site opened near Stavanger, Norway, in 1978, followed by Greece’s Souda Bay range in 1984.
NATO FORACS AUTEC, became an associate test facility in 1994, co-located with AUTEC. Canada was welcomed as an eighth sponsoring member within the same year.
NATO FORACS AUTEC provides a two-dimensional tracking environment capable of measuring surface, subsurface and in-air objects in a range equipped with optical and differential GPS tracking instrumentation capable of fixing an accurate reference point on a ship.
In 2017, FORACS conducted its first multi-ship test to prove elements of Task Group interoperability and underscore the program’s role in NATO readiness. In 2024, NATO FORACS celebrated its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of multinational cooperation designed to ensure ships from any allied navy can operate, fight and navigate with consistent, verified performance across all three test ranges.
NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Kevin Behm, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.