a
World Defense & Security News - NATO
 
 
Eight NATO partners to cooperate for precision-guided munitions common acquisition
 
Yesterday eight NATO Allies (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a Danish-led Smart Defence project on the multinational provision of air-to-ground precision-guided munitions (PGMs), NATO said on Feb. 11, 2016.
     
Eight NATO partners to cooperate for precision guided munitions common acquisition 640 001Eight Defense Ministers from NATO countries signed yesterday a MOU on Multinational Cooperation for Precision Guided Munitions
(Credit: NATO)
     
The project was originally launched by Denmark in the margins of the NATO Wales Summit through the signature of a Letter of Intent (LOI) by defence ministers from six NATO member countries (Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Portugal and Spain). Membership expanded last year with Belgium and the Netherlands joining the LOI. With the MOU signing Allies have now institutionalized their cooperation framework. This will enable the participating Allies to address all aspects of their air-to-ground precision-guided munitions (PGM) requirements through multinational cooperation. This will include the procurement and management of munitions inventories.

In parallel, the group of Allies has already submitted a Letter of Request to the United States for a first future multinational order under this cooperation framework. By working together under NATO’s Smart Defence umbrella, the eight Allies that signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will directly respond to one of NATO’s capability priorities.

A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize collateral damage.