Top secret NATO centre switching to UK 01.05.12
29British Forces News has been given rare access to NATO's Mediterranean surveillance hub.
It is the first time a UK broadcaster has been allowed into the top-secret Maritime Operations Centre in Naples.
The facility ran naval operations for last year's Libya campaign, coordinating 100 warships involved in the arms embargo against the Gaddafi regime, as well as helping to enforce the no fly zone and support strikes from offshore to protect the civilian population.
It has a multinational team of military staff of computer, intelligence aviation and shipping specialists who monitor for suspicious activity on Europe's maritime doorstep. They are the tripwire sounding the first alarm at any attempt to smuggle weapons or launch terrorist attacks.
Next year the centre will close and merge with NATO's other maritime control centre 1,000 miles away in Britain at Northwood in North West London.