A written statement was made from NATO about the new initiative.
In the statement, it was stated that the initiative was implemented as part of the Drone Edge program, which was launched at the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum held in Ankara in July and envisages investing over 40 billion dollars in anti-UAV capabilities in 5 years.
It was emphasized in the statement that the marketplace for anti-UAV systems aims to facilitate allied countries' access to solutions suitable for their urgent operational needs, and added: "In this context, allied countries will be able to supply these solutions directly through the NATO catalog without the need for an additional tender process." The expression was used.
In the statement, it was stated that within the scope of the marketplace, the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) selected 16 solutions developed by 5 companies through an evaluation process.
It was noted in the statement that the solutions were determined based on the experiences gained during national innovation activities and exercises within NATO, and that the selected capabilities were already used in allied countries and Ukraine.
In the statement, it was underlined that these solutions include fixed, portable and on-the-go systems.
In the statement, it was stated that NCIA, which hosts the NATO Anti-UAV Systems Center of Expertise, will be responsible for framework contracts made with more than 1 company, and added: "Within the scope of contracts that will be valid for 1.5 years, NATO plans to conduct regular competition processes in order to ensure that the newest technologies are made available to allied countries." It was said.
In the statement, it was shared that NATO allocated 3.1 million euros for further testing of the selected solutions by countries or NATO commands.
"The aim is to make the capabilities available as soon as possible"
Making a statement about the initiative at NATO Headquarters in Brussels to a group of media outlets, including Anadolu Agency (AA), Claudio Palestini, Head of the Innovation and Technology Adaptation Unit at NATO Headquarters Defense Investments, Innovation and Armament Department, said: "The purpose of the marketplace is to accelerate the introduction of capabilities as soon as possible. However, we will have to re-apply to the market regularly to include new systems developed with the technological revolution." he said.
Palestini stated that the contracts in question are located on an online platform called "Innovative Solutions Catalog" and said:
"With a single click, a form opens. Allied countries specify their needs in this form and the system initiates the supply process of the relevant product. The aim here is to provide a kind of electronic commerce (e-commerce) experience in the supply of anti-UAV systems. Thus, allied countries will be able to supply the capabilities they need through a very simple system."
Your main purpose here is; Palestini said that the aim is to bring forward the competition process and gain time before signing all these contracts, adding that countries have the option of both leasing and purchasing.
Palestini emphasized that allies thus gained the flexibility to act with the option of renting to meet their very short-term needs or purchasing in line with their longer-term needs.
Underlining that the other important issue is the price, Palestini said:
"The results of the competition process are determined based on price. Thus, there are no surprises. Prices are determined in line with the offers NCIA receives from companies. When countries make the purchase, they have precise information about the features, performance, price and delivery time of the systems."
"Delivery will be possible in 90 to 180 days"
NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Unit Chief Scientist Cristian Coman also pointed out that the fact that procurement processes normally take too long is a problem.
Coman said, "Under normal circumstances, when we take on a task to supply a system today, it takes at least 9 to 12 months for the competition process to be completed and the contract to be signed. Instead, we had to create a mechanism that would allow us to start the competition process in advance. The initiative aims for this." He made a statement.
Stating that an open, fair and competitive evaluation was carried out for all NATO countries within the scope of the process, Coman stated that nearly 100 companies showed interest in the initiative.
Coman stated that when a contract is signed through the country's marketplace, a delivery schedule varying between 90 and 180 days depending on the contract conditions comes into play, adding: "In other words, the relevant capability becomes ready for use in approximately 3 to 6 months. Thus, the procurement and launch of solutions is significantly accelerated." he said.
Coman noted that they were able to significantly shorten critical processes because the contracts were ready.
