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Armaments Directors hold biannual meeting
The Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) - the representatives
responsible for armaments cooperation - met for their biannual meeting
on 6-7 November at NATO HQ.
They focused on a number of key themes that included NATO-EU relations,
in particular what the armaments community can do to contribute to this
relationship. It was suggested that expert-level meetings take place
between the two organisations to discuss armaments cooperation issues
with the aim of reinforcing capability development through NATO's Prague
Capabilities Commitment and the EU's European Capabilities Action Plan
(ECAP). They also discussed the CNAD's contribution to the PCC in areas
such
as strategic
air lift,
strategic sea lift and air-to-air refuelling
and took stock of progress made in the areas such as defence against
terrorism, theatre missile defence and Allied Ground Surveillance.
The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss the introduction of modern
management tools to make the CNAD more accountable and assess whether
it is responding correctly to the Alliance's Strategic Objectives. The
CNAD, which is the senior NATO committee responsible for armaments cooperation,
material standardisation and defence procurement matters, reports directly
to the North Atlantic Council.
NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Minuto Rizzo, addressed the
conference and focused on the question of how NATO could do better with
the funding available, especially through improving the deployability
of its current forces and shifting the balance between national spending
and common/joint funding incrementally in favour of the latter.
During meetings with their counterparts from partner countries, NATO
armament representatives discussed prospects for mutual search and rescue
support in the event of a submarine accident. Russia, together with Sweden,
participated in these high-level discussions, providing information on
their respective programmes and national projects, and highlighting possible
areas of international cooperation. Other forms of partner involvement
in the main armaments group and the activities of the Research and Technology
Organisation were also raised.
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