A STANAG is a normative document that records an agreement between several or all NATO member states – which has been ratified at the national approved level – in order to implement a standard in whole or in part, with or without reservation. The capacity for cooperation is more important than ever for the Alliance. States must share common standards, particularly among the armed forces, to conduct multinational operations. By supporting interoperability between NATO forces and those of their partners, standardization allows for more efficient use of resources and thus increases the Alliance`s operational effectiveness. The NATO Standards Office (NSO) launches, coordinates, supports and manages NATO`s standardization activities, conducted under the control of the Standards Committee (STC). It also supports the NATO Military Committee in the development of military operational standardization. Its role is to promote the standardization of NATO in order to increase the operational effectiveness of the Alliance`s armed forces. A Standardization Agreement (STANAG) is a NATO standardization document that establishes the agreement of member states to implement a standard in whole or in part, with or without reservation, to meet an interoperability requirement. NATO authorities` standardization products enable the Alliance`s armed forces and their new partners to cooperate effectively and effectively. Within NATO, a standardization agreement (STANAG, redundant: STANAG agreement) sets out processes, procedures, conditions and conditions for common military or technical procedures or equipment between Alliance member countries. Each NATO state ratifies a STANAG and implements it within its own military. The aim is to provide common operational and administrative procedures and logistics so that one military member state can use the business and support of another military member.

STANAGs also form the basis of technical interoperability between a large number of communication and information systems (CIS) essential to NATO and the Allied operation. Allied Data Publication 34 (ADatP-34) NATO Interoperability Standards and Profiles, covered by STANAG 5524, maintains a catalogue of relevant standards for information and communication technologies. The NATO Standardization Staff Group (NSSG) assists the NSO Director. It is a personnel-level forum that facilitates the coherence of NATO`s standardization activities and procedures in all NATO bodies, particularly standards bodies1. Among the hundreds of standardization agreements (the total number was just under 1300 in April 2007[updated]), are those relating to ammunition, card markings, communication procedures and bridge classification. The Standards Committee (SC) is NATO`s highest-ranking committee for the unification of the Alliance, composed mainly of representatives from all NATO countries. It works under the control of the North Atlantic Council and publishes policies and guidelines for all NATO standardization activities. Its role is to implement domain governance within the Alliance for Policy and Management of Standardization, in order to contribute to the development of the Allied`s interoperable and low-cost armed forces and military capabilities. The NATO Standardization Documents Database (NSDD) provides consolidated storage of all NATO standardization documents and related information, including national ratification data.

NATO standardization is the development and implementation of concepts, doctrines and procedures to achieve and maintain the level of compatibility, interchangeability or community necessary to achieve interoperability. The NATO Standards Office (NSO) facilitates the participation of standardization planning areas in the NATO Defence Planning (NDPP) process to achieve interoperability. The NDPP aims to coordinate the national and multinational development of the armed forces and capabilities for all allied missions.