Top national defence officials discuss cooperation on defence projects
The bi-annual Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) is being held in NATO HQ in Brussels, today (11 April 2019). The CNAD is the senior committee formed by National Armament Directors and is responsible for enabling delivery of interoperable military capabilities across NATO Allies.
The CNAD also promotes opportunities for multinational cooperation in research and development and production of military equipment and weapon systems, with a particular emphasis on interoperability of battlefield systems and harmonizing military requirements.
Opening the conference, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “You, the National Armaments Directors, are instrumental in making sure the increase in defence spending goes toward the development of the right capabilities, and your community plays an important role to ensure we maintain our technological edge. I encourage you to find new, innovative ways, to make the Alliance even stronger”.
The theme for this meeting is Accelerating Capability Development and Delivery, and includes an evaluation of the critical capabilities and opportunities for multinational cooperation. The National Armaments Directors will discuss a series of projects in a wide range of capability areas, such as maritime unmanned systems, cooperation frameworks for decisive munitions, and Special Operations Forces. Equally, their deliberations will cover critical aspects of the cooperation between NATO and the European Union in capability delivery.