Finland takes forward multi-year cooperation programme with NC3A

The agreement was signed on 12 October. This is the first multi-year programme of work signed between a country, be it NATO or Partner, and the Agency. The Agency runs about 150 bilateral projects with Nations each year, but the aim is to translate these into multi-year programmes of work.

“The Agency’s strategy is to move from annual to multi-year programmes of work, as this will facilitate resource planning and ensure that we deliver to Nations’ satisfaction,” said Georges D’hollander, NC3A General Manager. “Longer-term commitments facilitate resource and facility planning, so that we are able to respond rapidly to increasing demand from Nations for bilateral and multinational cooperation, in line with the Secretary General’s smart defence policy.”

The five-year programme of work will address C4ISR domains such as: force support, battlespace awareness, force application, logistics, command and control, net-centric warfare and protection.

"Cooperation with NC3A is important to Finland in many ways,” said Brigadier General Harri Ohra-aho, Assistant Chief of Staff Consultation, Command, Control, Communication Finnish Defence Forces (ACOS C4 FDF). “The multi-year programme helps the Finnish Defence Forces to make cost-effective solutions for the future. nteroperability will be achieved with more coherent manner and with fewer resources when we are able to approach it in a systematic way. Working together with NC3A specialists helps us better to understand multinational approach and standards in the development of our C4 systems. The FDF is very pleased to be the first country to sign multi-year programme of work with the Agency."

Growing trend
Several other Nations have expressed interest in establishing multi-years programmes of work, including Istanbul Cooperation partners, such as Qatar. The Cooperation with Nations is led by the Directorate Sponsor Account NATO and Nations.

“The Libya campaign has demonstrated the need for NATO and its Partners to join ‘one’ mission network for operations and it is only possible with proven interoperability achieved through cooperative capability development,” said Dr. Velizar Shalamanov, Director of the Account. “We have a very robust range of products: off-the-shelf NATO capabilities that can be passed on to Partners, and advanced laboratories to test interoperability. This will be even more visible in the new edition of the Agency’s Catalogue of Products and Expertise.”

 

The visit was led by the Finnish Ambassador to The Netherlands, His Excellency Klaus Korhonen; Finland’s Military Representative to NATO, Major General Pertti Salminen; and
Brigadier General Harri Ohra-aho, ACOS C4 Division (J6).