Press Release (96)167 9 December 1996

NATO establishes New Research and Technology (R&T) Board An important milestone has been reached in NATO's internal restructuring, with the formal establishment of a new NATO Research and Technology Board. At a recent inaugural session co-chaired by Mr. N.W. Ray, the Assistant Secretary General for Defence Support, and General G.J. Folmer, Director of the International Military Staff, NATO's Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador S. Balanzino, established the R&T Board on behalf of the Secretary General and the North Atlantic Council. The new R&T Board assumes the responsibility and authority of the Defence Research Group (DRG) and the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD), as well as control of all of the subsidiary bodies and activities of these two groups. The R&T Board will report both to the Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) and to the Military Committee. During the inaugural meeting, Dr. M. Yarymovych (US) was elected as the first Chairman of the new R&T Board. Dr. E.A. van Hoek (NL) was also nominated as the Director of the R&T Agency, subject to confirmation by the Secretary General. The R&T Agency, located in Paris, will be an integrated support staff formed by the merger of the AGARD and DRG staff elements. The R&T Board and its subgroups, along with the R&T Agency, will comprise the NATO R&T Organization. This event marks the first major change in NATO's R&T structure in over three decades. It is seen as an opportunity to enhance the very important and successful international cooperative mechanisms conducted in this sphere under the NATO umbrella, while providing a better integrated and more accessible focal point for NATO defence R&T. NATO Point of Contact: Dr. K. Gardner, Head Defence Research Section, Defence Support Division. Tel: [32](2)707-4420, Fax: [32](2)707-4103.