NATO Logistics Handbook October 1997

Chapter 9: Production Logistics Other NATO Committees and Bodies involved in Armaments Cooperation 914. Other NATO committees and bodies are also involved in certain aspects of armaments cooperation: NATO Air Defence Committee (NADC) 915. The NADC is chaired by the Deputy Secretary General and meets twice per year. It advises the Council and the DPC on all aspects of air defence programme development for NATO and the adjacent sea areas. Currently it has two subordinate panels: Panel on Air Defence Philosophy (PADP). Panel on Air Defence Weapons (PADW); NATO Project Steering Committees (NPSC) 916. A NATO Project is a formal status conferred by the CNAD on a armaments cooperation project which is subject to the following conditions: two or more NATO nations participate in the project; there is a commitment to report progress annually to CNAD until the equipment has been produced or the project otherwise terminated; and provision is included for the admission of other interested NATO countries, subject to the acceptance of reasonable and equitable conditions to be provided by the participating countries. 917. A NPSC is a body composed of national representatives established by an intergovernmental agreement between two or more NATO nations in order to coordinate, execute or supervise an equipment procurement programme which has qualified as a NATO PROJECT. Some 20 cooperative projects continue to enjoy formal NATO status under the terms of the CNAD Charter. (A list of current NPSCs appears at Annex B) NATO Standardization Organization (NSO) 918. The rôle and organization of the NSO are described in Chapter 17 - Standardization and Interoperability. Research and Technology Organization (RTO) 919. Following a Council decision in the Summer of 1996, the establishment of a new organization for the conduct of collaborative NATO Defence Research and Technology (R&T) development was agreed. This new organization is formed from the amalgamation of the CNAD's Defence Research Group (DRG) with Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD) under the MC. The governing body of this new organization is the Research and Technology Board (RTB), composed of national delegates drawn from government, industry and academia. The RTB has been designated by the Council as the single focus within NATO for the conduct of international collaborative defence R&T, and the coordination of other R&T activities and issues. The Chairman of the RTB reports to both the CNAD and the MC. 920. The RTO is supported by the Research and Technology Agency (RTA), headquartered in Paris, France. The primary work of the RTO is conducted by networks of national experts, involved in collaborative research projects, military studies and information exchange activities across a wide range of technology disciplines. NATO Consultation, Command and Control Organisation (NC3O) 921. As a result of a Council decision the NATO C3 Organisation (NC3O) came into being in July 1996. The work of the NATO C3 Community is overseen by the NATO C3 Board (NC3B) which meets twice a year with representation from capitals. The Board is assisted in its work by the National C3 Representatives (NC3REPS) who are normally resident in their delegation or military representation in NATO HQ. The Board oversees the work of its two Agencies, the NATO C3 Agency (NC3A) which is a planning, design, development engineering, technology and procurement agency, and the NATO CIS Operating and Support Agency (NACOSA). Staff support to the NC3B and its substructure is provided by the NATO Headquarters C3 Staff, which is an integrated civilian and military staff responding to both the ASG/DS and the Director IMS (DIMS). 922. The NATO C3 systems that are being developed encompass the common-funded communications systems, information systems, sensor (and warning installations) systems, and their facilities in NATO and national headquarters, that are required for political consultation, crisis management, civil emergency planning, and military command and control. NATO C3 activities in these areas are related to the multinational decision making process which deals with: policy making, planning, programming, implementation, operation and maintenance of common-funded NATO C3 systems; standardization and cooperative development, testing and procurement of NATO C3 and appropriate national C3 (including navigation and identification) equipment and systems; and interoperability between national C3 systems, and between those systems and common-funded NATO C3 systems.