What it is
The agreement behind AJP-3.9
STANAG 2524 commits NATO nations to implement AJP-3.9, Edition B, the Allied joint doctrine for joint targeting. The agreement itself is short and holds no doctrine: it states an aim, names the publication, and sets out how a nation ratifies, implements and reports against it. Its own stated purpose is "to provide effective planning and execution of national and NATO targeting activities" and to give commanders and staff "the necessary understanding of NATO joint targeting terms, processes and common framework."
A STANAG is the instrument, not the content. Nations ratify it, implement it through their own doctrine and training changes, and a company encounters it only because a contract or a tender invokes the doctrine. Ratification and implementation are separate steps, a nation may ratify with reservations, and so the question "is STANAG 2524 mandatory" has a contractual answer and no general one.
Who the doctrine is written for
The document says the doctrine "is intended primarily for strategic and operational level headquarters involved in operations." It also calls itself "instructive" for a wider group: a coalition of NATO members, partners and non-NATO nations, and it "provides a reference for NATO civilian and non-NATO civilian actors." None of that reaches a commercial supplier directly; it describes who inside and alongside NATO uses the doctrine once implemented.
What implementation means here
The agreement "shall be considered implemented when nations have made changes to" national doctrine concerning joint targeting and national training plans and standards regarding joint targeting. Beyond that, a nation must "plan and execute national training exercises/events using national doctrine and this publication" and "report any relevant observations through the NATO Lessons Learned Portal." Reporting continues afterwards: "Allies and NATO bodies shall provide implementation details through the electronic reporting tool."
Unusually for a STANAG cover, this one sets a firm NATO effective date rather than recording "not applicable": the agreement "is effective upon receipt for use by the participating nations and NATO bodies." Nations record their ratification response in the NATO Standardization Document Database (NSDD), and are invited, where they have not already done so, to "advise the NSO of their intention regarding its ratification and implementation."
Where it sits among the other agreements
This STANAG is not read alone. It names three other Allied joint doctrine agreements as related reading: STANAG 2437, which covers AJP-01; STANAG 2490, which covers AJP-03, the doctrine for the conduct of operations; and STANAG 2526, which covers AJP-05, the doctrine for the planning of operations. None of the three is a stated prerequisite; they simply sit alongside it in the same family of joint doctrine.
What it does not do
It describes no certification, no notified body, no government quality assurance and no audit of any organisation. Its only stated check is a review of the agreement itself "in accordance with AAP-03," with the result "recorded within the NSDD." This is Edition 3 (AJP-3.9 Edition B), promulgated 9 November 2021. It supersedes "STANAG 2524, Edition 2, dated 8 April 2016."