NATO Promotes Joint Procurement of Counter-Drone Equipment

According to a report by Reference News Network on November 8, Agence France-Presse reported on November 5 that NATO announced the launch of a joint procurement platform aimed at equipping the 32 member countries with anti-drone equipment more quickly and efficiently.

Claudio Palestini, head of NATO's innovation department, said: “Our idea is to provide a procurement experience, sometimes referred to as ‘e-commerce style procurement,’ to acquire these anti-drone systems through a very simple mechanism.”

NATO has initiated a tender announcement to select the equipment with the best performance and lowest price, and will then provide the list to the member countries.

NATO received about 80 bids and has signed 16 contracts with five defense companies, including the French startup Altair Aerospace, Germany's Quantum Systems, and the American Northrop Grumman.

All products from the aforementioned companies were selected after several months of evaluation. NATO member countries can now purchase or lease these systems long-term.

These products are used to protect borders or strategic facilities and can provide various solutions, including signal jamming, intercepting drones, and other weapons such as artillery. (Translated by Wang Zhongju)