Netherlands MoD press release
Participating nations are Denmark, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
During a side session of the NEDS matchmaking day on 16-11-2022, this initiative has been taken one step further. In the first part of this meeting, the representatives of the nations clearly defined a top-three of topics of interest for cooperation:
- Advancement of shipbuilding concepts for modularity, interoperability, and harmonization of certification and standards;
- underwater warfare and seabed situational awareness;
- and future proof propulsion, subject to navy effectiveness and operational requirements.
During the second part of the meeting, the group was complemented by the presidents of the national defence industry associations. The topics that were defined in the first part of the session, were presented to the industry representatives and were open for discussion.
The first action item for the nations is to further elaborate these three selected topics in 1-pagers. This will be the basis for a workshop with industries (OEMs, SMEs) and research institutes, during which roadmaps will be defined towards future cooperation.
Other issues to address are the elaboration of government ambitions and intentions and defining the governance of this initiative. In this regard, an important next step is the drafting and signing of an MOU.
