NATO has established an online procurement catalogue allowing member defence ministries to buy or lease counter-drone equipment through pre-awarded contracts, La Vanguardia reported from Brussels. The system is designed to replace traditional military contracting procedures that typically take between nine and 12 months.
Prices for systems listed on the platform range between 1.6 million and 25 million euros per unit, with delivery schedules and technical features established in advance. Available technologies include radars, optical cameras, electromagnetic sensors, electronic jamming systems, interceptor drones, machine guns and small missiles.
Claudio Palestini, head of technology adoption at NATO's Defence Investment Division, told La Vanguardia that the pre-tendered platform is intended to make purchases straightforward. "The idea is to offer an e-commerce-like procurement experience for counter-drone systems, so that allies can make purchases easily. This does not mean that there is no competition, but that competition has already been carried out in advance," Palestini said.
The marketplace forms part of the Drone Edge programme introduced at the Ankara summit, where member states committed to invest more than 40 billion dollars in counter-drone capabilities over five years. According to Palestini, police forces have also shown interest in using the framework to protect civilian sites such as airports and energy infrastructure.
