NATO Nations pursue cost-savings through joint Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) procurement
On 16 November, 13 nations agreed to seek significant cost-savings through the joint procurement of C-IED technology at a special workshop held in Brussels, Belgium. The initiative is part of NATO’s ongoing reform efforts.
According to NATO’s Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) the joined-up approach will allow Nations to benefit from savings of 15% or more. The projects are due to begin in 2011.
NC3A - NATO’s advanced technology arm - has a mandate to come up with specific options in the areas of detection, jammers, ‘route clearance packages’, dismounted operations and protection of infrastructure (e.g. base entry control points).
Leveraging NATO’s value added
“In support of NATO’s C-IED Action Plan we are looking at significantly ramping up multinational cooperation, including joint procurement,” said Ludwig Decamps from NATO’s Defence Investment Division. “Experience tells us that multinational cooperation does not happen by default; in the coming months we will engage Allies and Partners in a substantive debate to identify projects that can deliver operational benefits and economies of scale.”
NATO’s Conference of National Armaments Directors will be briefed on the results of the workshop.
“This will not be a one-size fits all approach. Nations will have the option to pick and choose which packages and items are of specific interest to them,” stressed Dr. Franco Fiore from NC3A.
NC3A has a long track-record in delivering advanced C-IED technologies to protect NATO’s bases in Afghanistan. NATO nations have also benefitted previously from the Agency’s services in obtaining economies of scale through joint multinational acquisition of cyber defences and friendly force tracking technologies.
“When Nations pool orders they are able to benefit from lower unit prices, while for Industry the transaction costs are lower, so it is very much a win-win approach,” said Dr. Fiore, “When we applied a similar approach to friendly force tracking, the order of savings was in the high millions of Euros.”
C-IED is one of 11 items endorsed by Heads of State and Government as part of the Lisbon Package of “most pressing capability needs”.
NATO members Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and the United States joined Partner countries Russia and Sweden at the workshop. Representatives of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT), Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum, NATO’s Military Engineering Centre of Excellence in Germany, the EOD Centre of Excellence in Slovakia and NATO’s logistics Agency – NAMSA also participated.