Developing NATO’s cutting-edge capabilities
Top national defence officials discussed opportunities to procure and develop together the capabilities the Alliance needs to face today’s security challenges at the Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) held in Luxembourg on 19 April 2018.
“To carry out its missions and tasks, NATO needs cutting-edge and cost-effective equipment,” said Camille Grand, the CNAD Permanent Chairman and NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment during the opening of the Conference. He underscored the CNAD’s critical role in helping NATO Allies decide how and where to invest in defence.
Facilitating multinational cooperation
During this meeting, armaments directors expressed in particular their intent to pursue the joint purchasing – and common warehousing – of land battle decisive munitions (LBDMs) that will enable participants to acquire munitions at lower cost and harmonise their inventories.
They will also continue working to develop maritime unmanned systems suitable for anti-submarine warfare and other maritime applications in deep waters.
“All these initiatives will strengthen the Alliance and will contribute to enhancing NATO forces’ interoperability and ensuring more efficient use of resources,” said Camille Grand.
Supporting long-term capability development projects
As is customary in their biannual meeting, the Directors were updated on the state of play of the major programmes governed by the CNAD such as Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance; Alliance Ground Surveillance; Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (the successor of the AWACS surveillance aircraft, also referred to as ‘NATO’s eyes in the sky’); and Ballistic Missile Defence.
The next CNAD plenary meeting will be held at NATO Headquarters in autumn 2018.
About the Conference of National Armaments Directors
The CNAD brings together the top national officials responsible for defence procurement in NATO member and partner countries. It provides them with opportunities to cooperate on equipment and research projects.
At the same time, it facilitates exchange of information on national programmes to the benefit of individual countries and to NATO as a whole. The NATO Support and Procurement agency (NSPA) located in Luxembourg, supports participating countries in procuring effective and cost-efficient capabilities.