Canada joins NATO air munitions initiative
Canada has joined NATO’s Air Battle Decisive Munitions (ABDM) framework, which reduces the costs and delivery times of ammunition. The agreement was signed on Wednesday (17 April 2024) in the margins of a bi-annual meeting of NATO’s National Armaments Directors.
In recent years, NATO has helped Allies and partners to create innovative multinational initiatives, which have reduced the cost for precision guided munitions by 15 to 20 percent and reduced delivery timelines by up to one year. These initiatives deliver critical capabilities for the Alliance under more favourable conditions, improving interoperability and how stockpiles can be shared. All of this makes NATO militaries a more unified force.
Launched in 2014, the ABDM framework is one of NATO’s multinational High Visibility Projects through which Allies aggregate their munitions and missile requirements for the entire air domain and convert them into multinational buys. In the first half of 2024, Allies will have placed new contracts through ABDM worth around 360 million euros.
ABDM is directly supported by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency, which has been pivotal in reducing costs and speeding up deliveries through this framework. This strengthens NATO’s deterrence and defence posture and provides more options for Allies to increase their support to Ukraine.