The European Defence Agency hosted a seminar today at which high level representatives from national defence ministries and industry discussed how to increase cooperation between public and private test and evaluation facilities with a view to rationalising the European Defence Test and Evaluation Base (DTEB).
The seminar was organised jointly with the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD).
“Action to reduce duplication in the European DTEB is an important part of the Agency’s work programme, but it is obvious that this rationalisation cannot take place without industry consultation and participation,” said EDA Deputy Chief Executive, Hilmar Linnenkamp, who introduced the event.
Industry participants noted that Test & Evaluation was an essential step in any development for technical and contractual reasons and to reduce risk, and there are current overlaps and gaps in national testing capabilities. In defence electronics, typical T&E costs can range from 7% to 13% of the total programme cost. There are currently 40 000 people employed in the testing sector.
“This event has been an excellent opportunity for the EDA, governments and industries to join forces to contribute to a barrier-free European Defence Equipment Market,” said ASD Secretary General, Francois Gayet during his presentation.
The participants considered the DTEB rationalisation as a long term objective of strategic importance and agreed to strengthen the dialogue between the EDA, its participating Member States and industry in this area with a view to establishing a joint action plan in due course.