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AEDP-06
Manufacturers of NATO ISR removable memory modules and ground stations, and the test organisations that assess their interoperability
AEDP-06 sets NATO's advanced data storage interface (NADSI): the connectors, protocols and encryption-credential handling for downloading data from an ISR aircraft's removable memory module to a ground station, plus the interoperability testing that certifies compliant equipment.
AEDP-06, the NATO Advanced Data Storage Interface (NADSI) Requirements and Implementation Guide, defines the physical, electrical and protocol interface a Removable Memory Module (RMM) uses to hand over collected ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) data to a ground station. It is an Allied Engineering Documentation Publication, meaning it is where the technical content itself lives; it supports STANAG 4575, the NATO Standardization Agreement nations ratify to record their commitment to using this interface. A manufacturer builds equipment to AEDP-06's connectors and protocols, a nation ratifies STANAG 4575, and the two only meet in practice when a contract or a national authority names STANAG 4575/NADSI compliance for a given ISR programme. This is Edition C, Version 1, promulgated in July 2026, superseding Edition B, Version 4.
The interface runs over Ethernet and TCP/IP as "a direct connect point-to-point configuration" (Section 2.1), though more complex network configurations are not excluded. Section 3 defines three performance classes, named for their data rate: Class 1 (1 Gbps, an RJ45 signal connector plus a Glenair 805-series 28 VDC power connector), Class 10 (10 Gbps, the same RJ45 connector with a USB-C power connector supplying up to 240 W), and Class 25 (25 Gbps, the same connectors as Class 10). A ground station has to support all three classes; an RMM only needs to support the class it was built to.
RMMs run an IPv4 stack, obtain their address by DHCP, and identify themselves with a DHCP Vendor Class Identifier beginning "RMM:NADSI:". They discover themselves to a ground station through the Service Location Protocol, advertising attributes such as MTU, product identity, serial number and capacity, and they answer ICMP ping requests. File access itself runs over SMB or NFSv3 (or both), with SMB preferred; a ground station supports both and falls back to SMB by default. Any processing the recorder applied internally, whether error correction, compression, or its own encryption, has to be stripped out before the data crosses the NADSI port, so what a ground station reads is what was actually recorded.
Physical requirements go down to the pin-out (Sections 3.3-3.7): an eight-contact 8P8C (RJ45-type) connector wired to a defined pin table, a sealable power connector with a positive locking mechanism, a 28 VDC supply held to +/-10% at up to 5 amps over a 2 to 15 metre cable, and a ground station environment (Section 3.12) that keeps the RMM within -20 to +50 degrees Celsius while data downloads. None of this is incidental detail for a manufacturer - the connector, the pin-out and the power budget are the interface, in the same way a protocol handshake is.
Section 4 sets out a process, still described in the document as "being researched" through NATO's Custodial Support Team, for unlocking an encrypted RMM before download: the RMM responds to a discovery request with the steps a user needs to follow, presented as web pages, which may include inserting a physical token ("dongle" or crypto ignition key) and entering a PIN. An operator works through the prompts, closes the page, and only then is the RMM ready to mount and download from. AEDP-06 does not mandate a particular encryption method - each NATO nation may use its own - and this section only standardises how the credential-entry steps are surfaced to the person doing the download.
Appendix B describes a formal testing regime distinct from anything in the AQAP quality-assurance family. A vendor or test sponsor works with the Space Dynamics Laboratory, the lab NATO designated to develop and run NADSI interoperability tests, under the oversight of the STANAG 4575 Custodian. Testing can cover a complete RMM-to-ground-station system, or a limited "subsystem" (an RMM alone, a power supply, or a power connector and cable), with the scope agreed between vendor, sponsor and Custodian before testing starts. A pass produces a test summary and a certification recommendation, and the tested unit is entered in a registry along with exactly which tests it passed. Retesting can follow a configuration change to the tested item, a newly discovered defect, or the registration period simply lapsing.
AEDP-06 is explicit about its own boundaries. It does not define the physical size, capacity, performance level or storage technology of an RMM - any technology can sit behind the interface, as long as it presents the defined Ethernet connection. It also does not define the format of the data being downloaded; that is the job of other Agreements, such as STANAG 7023 or STANAG 4545 for imagery, that NADSI is designed to carry regardless of format. AEDP-06 lists these and a handful of other documents, including ISO 9001, as reference material rather than requirements it imposes itself.
AEDP-06 is a hardware and protocol specification, not a management-system standard, and the work of meeting it - building the right connectors, implementing SMB/NFSv3 and DHCP correctly, and going through interoperability testing at the Space Dynamics Laboratory - happens in engineering, not in software.
What ComplyTrain supports is the documentation trail around that work: a controlled record of which NADSI class and file-sharing protocol a given RMM or ground station design implements, the interoperability test report and any certification recommendation held as a controlled document rather than a loose file, training records for ground station operators on the encryption-credential procedure, and a documented rationale whenever a retest is triggered by a configuration change.
ComplyTrain does not design RMM or ground station hardware, run interoperability testing, or issue a certification recommendation - that stays with the vendor, the test sponsor and the Space Dynamics Laboratory. Which NATO ISR interoperability documents apply to a given programme, and at what tier, is set by the contract and the customer's quality clause. Explore the related standards to see what sits alongside AEDP-06, or talk to us about the evidence trail your NADSI implementation needs to hold.
Tell us how you need to work with AEDP-06 and what you need from it. We will come back to you about what ComplyTrain can do.
Thank you. Your list is on its way to your inbox, and we will come back to you on what working with these standards in ComplyTrain involves, usually within one business day.
Not on its own. AEDP-06 supports STANAG 4575, the agreement NATO nations ratify to record their commitment to this interface, and a nation can ratify with reservations. Whether it applies to a given programme depends on whether a contract or a national authority names STANAG 4575/NADSI compliance.
No. Interoperability testing and certification recommendations for NADSI equipment are issued by the Space Dynamics Laboratory under the STANAG 4575 Custodian, not by a compliance platform. ComplyTrain helps hold the documentation and evidence around that process.
Three: Class 1 (1 Gbps), Class 10 (10 Gbps) and Class 25 (25 Gbps), each with its own connector and power arrangement. A ground station has to support all three; an RMM only needs to support the class it was built to.
SMB and NFSv3. An RMM supports one or both and advertises which through the Service Location Protocol; a ground station supports both and defaults to SMB unless the RMM only offers NFSv3.
Edition C, Version 1, promulgated July 2026. It supersedes Edition B, Version 4, which nations are instructed to destroy on receipt of the new edition.
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