NATO Multinational Project: The first NATO NSPA Air-to-Ground Precision Guided Munitions
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) received the first lot of Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs), acquired through a NATO project involving 11 Allies and one NATO partner. The PGMs, produced in the United States, will be delivered to their final recipients, Belgium and Denmark, in the coming weeks. The value of this initial acquisition is around $20m.
The delivery is part of a cooperation effort, launched in 2014 at the NATO Summit in Wales, which offers Allies a framework to acquire air-to-ground PGMs in a cost-effective and flexible way. Working through this NATO initiative, rather than individually, allows Allies to draw upon each other’s PGM stocks in case of need: during air operations or in a possible crisis. This will also help NATO and Allies to reduce dependence on the US for air missions.
“This initiative seeks to address a problem that NATO first encountered during the Libya Operation: when some Allies ran out of their stockpiles of munitions, they found it incredibly difficult to use those of other air forces. We realized that we needed a new, flexible approach to the provision of air-to-ground precision-guided munitions. I am happy that this approach is now delivering its first results,” said Rose Gottemoeller, NATO Deputy Secretary General.
The project is managed by the NSPA on behalf of the Allies. So far, 11 NATO members have joined this effort: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom . NATO partner Finland is also a participant.
“This initiative seeks to address a problem that NATO first encountered during the Libya Operation. When some allies ran out of their stockpiles of munitions, they found it incredibly difficult to use those of other air forces,” NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller said in a press release.
“We realized that we needed a new, flexible approach to the provision of air-to-ground precision-guided munitions. I am happy that this approach is now delivering its first results,” Gottemoeller said.
Following the first delivery today, the second and third rounds of acquisition for PGMs are already underway. While continuing to expand this cooperation in the air domain, NATO has started to build similar frameworks for the acquisition of land and maritime munitions. This is part of NATO’s effort to increase joint investments in the critical capabilities that the Alliance needs.
Precision-guided munitions cover a broad array of bombs, missiles, artillery and other systems. They can use GPS, laser guidance, radio frequency, radar and other methods to help ensure an accurate strike against both stationary and moving targets.
Precision Guided Munitions, PGM
What is the aim of the project? The project aims to increase the availability of precision guided munitions through multinational cooperation. A central element is to establish prepared loaning possibilities. This will allow countries engaged in international operations flexible access to the stocks of other Allies with a less urgent need for precision munitions. Shared procurement will result in reduced costs and slimmer acquisition processes. Further cost reductions could be obtained through joint logistics and maintenance. Multinational project: Air-to-Ground Precision Guided Munitions Why this project? Operations in Libya revealed that the Allies face a challenge in sustaining precision guided munition stocks to meet operational requirements. Such “smart bombs” are necessary to minimize loss of civilian lives and collateral damage, when NATO conducts security operations across the globe. Through renewed thinking and enhanced processes the participating nations will be able to get more for the same resources.
What is the aim of the project?
The project aims to increase the availability of precision guided munitions through multinational cooperation. A central element is to establish prepared loaning possibilities. This will allow countries engaged in international operations flexible access to the stocks of other Allies with a less urgent need for precision munitions. Shared procurement will result in reduced costs and slimmer acquisition processes. Further cost reductions could be obtained through joint logistics and maintenance.
A Letter of Intent (LOI) for the PGM project was signed in the margins of the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014. With the signing of a PGM Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the project is entering its next phase with preparations being made for fulfilling a first consolidated procurement of Precision-Guided Munitions (PGM). A more long-term goal is to eventually create a common pool of air-to-ground precision guided munitions. Common pooling could consist of either national stock in common storage facilities or actual multinational pools of weapons, which participating nations can draw upon when needed for operations.
Participating countries
Denmark has taken on the role of lead nation for the project. Participating countries are Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain. The project is available to all Allies who might wish to participate, and other nations have already expressed their interest. The USA is not a participant as such, but is actively supporting the project in addressing US export control issues for US-type precision guided munitions.
Read also Precision Guided Munitions Air Power Studies Centre Working Papers – Copyright (c) Commonwealth of Australia : https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/docs/paper53.htm
