11 NATO Allies and Finland united in buying Precision Guided Munitions
On Thursday (9 November 2017), Hungary, the United Kingdom, and Finland joined a long-standing multinational effort to acquire Air-to-Ground Precision Guided Munitions. During a signing ceremony, the Defence Minister of Denmark and his counterparts from the new participants signed an amendment to the existing Memorandum of Understanding to mark their official accession.
This project was launched by six Allied Defence Ministers through a Letter of Intent during the Wales Summit in 2014. With Thursday’s ceremony, the number of participants has doubled reflecting the potential nations see in this effort. Through this framework, participants will be able to lower their acquisition cost by aggregating their individual demands. They will also obtain greater flexibility for their munitions stockpiles as all Precision Guided Munitions acquired under this scheme can be easily shared and exchanged amongst the participants.
The first multinational order is being executed by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) on behalf of the participants with delivery of munitions to nations scheduled for 2018. This first order is a major new opportunity for the nations and NSPA within the framework of US Foreign Military Sales. Additionally, this order under the PGM initiative demonstrates the benefit to nations of international cooperation in multinational logistics.