27 Oct. 2005

Alliance armaments cooperation refocused News 25/10/2005 - NATO Handover of risk reduction study report for Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) 26/10/2005 - NATO Partner countries join non-lethal weapons exhibition Meeting at NATO Headquarters on 27 and 28 October, Armaments Directors from the 26 NATO countries agreed to refocus NATO armaments cooperation on key capabilities. The fall meeting of the bi-annual Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) also saw progress on major projects such as Alliance Ground Surveillance and Defence Against Terrorism. Moving to more capabilities At the meeting, agreement was reached in principle to transform the CNAD’s working group structure into a more capability-based organisation. Rather than addressing army, naval and air armaments issues exclusively, the CNAD’s substructure will focus on capability areas, such as effective engagement, information superiority, and deployability of forces. “We are beginning to see the results from the push to make the CNAD more operationally focused and results-oriented,” said Mr. Marshall Billingslea, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment. The transition to the new structure is due to take place in 2006. Progress on key projects The meeting also saw the delivery to the NATO Secretary General of a risk reduction study report for NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance project. The study addresses a number of key issues raised by member countries and is an important step on the road to the design and development phase of this almost 4 billion Euro multi-national co-operative armaments programme – the largest in NATO’s history Progress was also made in the Defence Against Terrorism programme of work, with more countries actively participating in the programme and a number stepping forward to lead the development of new, cutting edge counterterrorism technologies. It was also confirmed that the project office for NATO’s theatre missile defence programme is up and running and that the first phase of the project is fully funded. The meeting was complemented by an exhibition on “Non-Lethal Weapons – Soft Power,” presenting the latest development in this field. The CNAD is the senior NATO body responsible for armaments co-operation and acquisition.