NATO plans to acquire an Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system that will give commanders a comprehensive picture of the situation on the ground. NATO’s operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya showed how important such a capability is. A group of Allies intends to acquire five unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their associated command and control base stations. NATO will then operate and maintain them on behalf of all 28 Allies. At the May 2012 NATO Chicago Summit there were several important topics discussed. The broader public learned the Smart Defence and Alliance Ground Sur- veillance System (AGS) expressions as frequently repeated issues in the politico– military environment. This paper shall highlight the AGS’s necessity, to be set up as a Joint NATO capability giving historical background as well as creating a state of the art Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Aquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) solution for the Alliance.