STANAG 1390 the submarine search and rescue manual

What it is

STANAG 1390 is the NATO standardization agreement that gives force to ATP-57, Edition D, the Allied tactical publication known as the Submarine Search and Rescue Manual. A STANAG is not itself a technical specification: it is the agreement by which NATO nations commit to implement one, and the actual procedures sit in the Allied Publication it covers. This STANAG responds to two interoperability requirements stated plainly in the document: "To establish the common operational response procedures to coordinate national and multinational submarine search and rescue responses," and "Standardized methods for search forces to locate and to communicate with a disabled submarine."

This is Edition 9, promulgated 3 April 2023. It supersedes "STANAG 1390, Edition 8, dated 16 May 2013."

Who ratifies it, and how it takes effect

The mechanism that matters here: a STANAG binds a nation, not a supplier. The letter of promulgation states: "The enclosed NATO standardization agreement (STANAG), which has been ratified by member nations, as reflected in the NATO Standardization Document Database (NSDD), is promulgated herewith." Nations "are invited to examine their ratification of the STANAG and, if they have not already done so, advise the NSO of their intention regarding its ratification and implementation." Once ratified: "This STANAG is effective upon receipt for use by the participating nations and NATO bodies," and "is implemented when a nation has issued the necessary orders or instructions to authorities and units concerned putting the standards and procedures detailed in the covered standard into effect." A supplier meets ATP-57 or this STANAG only where a contract or a tender brings either in by name, not because the STANAG exists on its own.

Reporting and review

Allies and NATO bodies "shall provide implementation details through the electronic reporting tool," while partner nations "are invited to provide their implementation details through the electronic reporting tool" - a required report for Allies, an invitation for partners. National ratification responses follow the same route: "Allies shall provide ratification details through the electronic reporting tool." The STANAG "is to be reviewed in accordance with AAP-03," and "the result of the review is to be recorded within the NSDD."

How it's evaluated

No certification exists here, and the document names none. What it describes is a national ratification, implementation and review cycle run through NATO's own machinery, not an audit against this STANAG as such. The technical procedures in ATP-57, and how a nation's search and rescue forces actually carry them out, are what a nation's own military authorities and any customer's quality clause would assess.

What it points to

ATP-57 is the standard this STANAG commits nations to implement, and where the submarine search and rescue procedures themselves live. STANAG 3552 and ATP-10 are named as related reading: STANAG 3552 covers ATP-10, the Search and Rescue Manual. STANAG 1475 and ANEP-85 are named the same way: STANAG 1475 covers ANEP-85, on material interoperability requirements for submarine escape and rescue. AAP-03 governs how this STANAG itself is reviewed. The STANAG is free to obtain from the NATO Standardization Document Database; NATO does not charge for its standardization documents and we do not host or sell copies.

Standards it references

• STANAG 3552Background
• ATP-10Background
• STANAG 1475Background
• ANEP-85Background