"Thinking strategically means looking at the present with a perspective on the future". After almost two years of absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this paradigm guided the work of the conference of national armaments directors of NATO (conference of national armaments directors, CNAD), which took place on 26 and 27 October at Alliance headquarters in Brussels.
For Italy, the general of the army corps Luciano Portolano, general secretary of defense and national director of armaments participated. The meeting was an opportunity for NATO member countries and partners to address extremely topical issues such as innovation, especially in the field of disruptive technologies, capable of giving a strong boost to the economy. Particular importance was also given to climate change and the way in which these impact on operations and on future operational scenarios.
"The technical-administrative area of the defense department" General Portolano declared, "Has the great responsibility of carrying out the delicate role of putting into practice the definition and direction of study, research and development, acquisition and production activities aimed at providing the Armed Forces with the means and materials necessary to carry out their mission in Homeland and beyond national borders. As already stated by Minister Guerini "added the general. “NATO is and remains our essential point of reference, in terms of shared values, deterrence, deterrence and defense. We work with conviction for an Alliance that in its transatlantic dimension can operate in a logic of complementarity with the European Union, avoiding any duplication ".
The conference also offered General Portolano the opportunity to conduct a series of bilateral meetings with the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany in order to discuss some mutually beneficial armaments cooperation programs.
CNAD, established in 1966, brings together senior national officials responsible for defense procurement in NATO member and partner countries, with the task of facilitating dialogue, promoting transatlantic industrial cooperation and identifying collaboration opportunities for research and development. and the production of military equipment with a view to multilateral cooperation. The conference also plays a key role in promoting interoperability, an essential requirement for modern national defense structures operating in multinational operational contexts.
Photo: Ministry of Defense
