Finland becomes member of NATO’s Uncrewed Aerial Systems support partnership

Europe, News February 10, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) welcomed its newest member to the Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) Support Partnership as Finland joined the group as a full member.

As a full member of the UAS support partnership, Finland can benefit from the support solutions specifically designed to meet its specific national needs.

According to the NSPA statement, “These solutions include System(s) Acquisition, Supply Support, Continued Airworthiness management, NATO Codification services, Maintenance Support, Technical Assistance, Configuration Control & Documentation management, Transportation Services, and Quality Assurance.”

The NSPA statement highlighted that Finland will experience state-of-the-art support services, leading to prompt issue resolution and enhanced customer satisfaction by utilizing the expertise and cutting-edge support solutions provided by the UAS support partnership.

Finland can take full advantage of the comprehensive range of services offered within the Uncrewed Aerial Systems support partnership portfolio, the statement added.

*^{The Finnish Border Guard uses EMSA CAMCOPTER S-100 for implementing coast guard functions in the Baltic Sea. (Image Credit: Schiebel)}*

After joining the NATO military alliance, Finland requested to participate in the UAS as an observer state. According to the NSPA statement, considering Finland’s “strong national interest” in the UAS capability, the agency welcomed Finland into the UAS support partnership as a full member.

Finland’s Logistics Department of the Defense Forces said in a statement that after joining the support partnership, “Finnish Defense Forces can cooperate in the procurement of drones of four different weight classes (Nano-Micro, Mini-Small, Small Tactical, and Tactical & Above)”.

NATO Support and Procurement Agency’s UAS Support Partnership was established in 2012 to provide full logistics support to different platforms of 11 member nations. Currently, eleven NATO countries including Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom are operating in partnership.

The UAS support partnership provides its members “with efficient, effective and responsive support through added-value solutions that respond to NATO and National Autonomous systems requirements,” the NSPA statement added.

*^{The Finland Police uses unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in all its activities. (Image Credit: Police of Finland)}*

The NSPA aims to meet the growing need for support and address the requirement for a versatile framework accommodating various Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) platforms of Allied nations.

NATO member countries can leverage NSPA services by collaboratively engaging in logistic contracts and pooling resources for collective orders. The support provided by NSPA includes systems acquisition, spares procurement, repairs, engineering studies, training, upgrades, documentation, on-demand services, and ongoing maintenance of airworthiness.