National Armaments Directors focus on Smart Defence and capability needs
On 7 April, the Conference of National Armaments Directors(CNAD) brought together top national officials responsible for defence procurement in NATO and partner countries at its biannual conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Delegates discussed the outcome of the NATO Defence Ministers meetings last March and focused on the Smart Defence concept recently introduced by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. They looked at ways to promote multinational programmes in order to make best use of shrinking defence budgets and also addressed the implications for the CNAD of emerging technologies, interoperability, and the relationship with industry.
Missile Defence, Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS), Countering Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IEDs) and the importance of enhancing cooperation with the European Union were among some of the specific capabilities discussed.
Mr Patrick Auroy, Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment and CNAD Permanent Chairman said, “I believe we should continue with long term efforts which aim to overcome many of the traditional obstacles that undermine the feasibility of multinational programmes. But at the same time we should look for new initiatives for multinational approaches to meet existing requirements”. Auroy pointed out that Smart Defence can help nations meet two of the challenges they face today: “how to get more security for the limited resources nations devote to defence, and how to invest enough to prepare for the future”.
The Armaments Directors concluded with a review of the progress made in the reform of the 14 Agencies and shared their views on the CNAD’s role and responsibilities vis-à-vis the new Agencies.
The CNAD is the senior NATO committee responsible for enabling cooperation between countries in the armaments field.