NATO allies agree to partner for joint weapons purchases

Two separate deals for group procurement of weapons by NATO allies and partners have been solidified with the signing of letters of understanding this week.

The two deals cover the purchase and warehousing of land battle munitions and of naval munitions, with each deal expected to lower costs for each country, as well as increase their interoperability.

"Over time, it will increase our interoperability, our ability to share our munitions and to work smoothly and effectively together, whatever the circumstances," Camille Grand, NATO's assistant secretary general for defense investment, said of the maritime munitions deal in a press release.

NATO members Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain have agreed to sign a Letter of Intent on Multinational Cooperation for the Provision of Maritime Battle Decisive Munitions in order to help standardize naval weapons. The agreement is expected to coordinate weapons procurement in order to for lower prices through economy of scale.

The agreement also calls for common storage and warehousing solutions to further reduce cost.

The plan covers many different types of weapons systems, including surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes and artillery shells, among others.

A Memorandum of Understanding on Multinational Cooperation for the Provision of Land Battle Decisive Munitions was also signed by 16 NATO members, and Macedonia, during the summit as well. Ministers of Austria and Finland were expected to sign the agreement following the end of the summit.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller said in a press release that the deal "will increase our ability to share our munitions and work more smoothly and effectively in the field."

"Over time, this initiative will help our troops to increase their interoperability and effectiveness where it is needed most," Gottemoeller said, and that it would "help to reduce costs, enabling our rising defense budgets to go even further."

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

NATO summit in crisis over Trump spending demands
Brussels (AFP) July 12, 2018
NATO leaders held emergency talks at their summit Thursday after US President Donald Trump demanded allies immediately increase defence spending, throwing the meeting into crisis. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called an extraordinary session of NATO's ruling North Atlantic Council after Trump repeated demands for allies to spend more on their militaries, singling out Germany for special criticism. Diplomatic sources told AFP that Trump used a meeting between the 29 NATO leaders and the pres ... read more