On Wednesday 30 September, the NDC organised its first “Innovation & Multinational Defence Capabilities Day”, as part of Study Period F for Senior Course 137.
Hosted by Dr Andrea Gilli, Senior Researcher at the NDC, the panel was comprised of Dr Niccolò Petrelli, NDC’s Einsenhower Fellow and Professor at Roma Tre University, the Hon. Andrea Manciulli, representing the Strategy Directorate of Leonardo Finmeccanica, and Mr Joachim Hofbauer, Head of Multinational Capability Cooperation, who presented virtually from NATO HQ.
Innovation and multinational defence capabilities are of the utmost relevance to the Alliance. Developing common capabilities fosters increased interoperability between Nations’ Armed Forces; facilitates the logistics and training aspects of missions and operations, all the while allowing countries to experiment with comparable platforms and to achieve cost savings in research and development.
The aim of the day-long session was to provide Course Members with an overview of NATO’s multinational capabilities development and discuss the theoretical advantages derived from defence cooperation, its opportunities, and to better understand obstacles that may prevent its implementation. The panel was complemented by in-depth discussions on the F35 Joint Strike Fighter Lighting II; an overview of the challenges and the opportunities that the defence industry faces; and industrial integration within Europe and across the Atlantic.
NDC Public Affairs Office
(Prepared by Ms Ilaria Latorre, ITA C)
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN