A new multinational headquarters for special operations forces in Central Europe has reached full operational capability, NATO announced.
The Regional Special Operations Component Command (R-SOCC), led by Hungary, brings together special operations units from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia under a single deployable headquarters. According to NATO, the achievement marks “a major milestone in regional defence cooperation” among the five participating nations.
With the new command now fully operational, the participating countries have a shared capability to plan and conduct special operations missions jointly, or to support NATO and EU-led operations when required.
R-SOCC enables each nation to maintain independent special forces capabilities while ensuring that they can operate seamlessly together under a unified command structure. The initiative is intended to improve regional readiness and strengthen Europe’s collective ability to respond swiftly to emerging security challenges.
The command follows the model of the Composite Special Operations Component Command (C-SOCC), established by Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands, which reached full operational status in 2020.
R-SOCC was initially launched through a Letter of Intent signed by the five defence ministers in February 2019, followed by a Memorandum of Understanding later that year. Austria formally joined in December 2020.
NATO described the command’s activation as “a positive demonstration of regional cooperation in Central Europe and an important contribution to the Alliance’s readiness.”
Image Bundesheer Fotos from Österreich, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
