The European Defence Agency (EDA) held a workshop and networking event on 24 and 25 January to support the development of the future Multinational Medical Modular Unit (M3U) Programme, foster a platform for multinational collaboration and establish a dialogue with industry.
More than 50 representatives from Member States, industry and other institutions shared information and knowledge on present and future capability development for Medical Support to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) followed the EDA’s revised approach towards a structured dialogue and enhanced engagement with industry based on a set of priority actions within three main medical areas:
- Advancements in pre-hospital care: solutions, including those contracted with external providers, to grant the best possible treatment to wounded soldiers (from the point of injury to the field hospital);
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Field hospitals for present and future CSDP operations: new systems to realise or provide cost-effective solutions for new generations of field hospitals, linked to the EDA M3U-Programme;
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Medical training and simulation: systems and technologies to improve training and learning in a simulated environment prior to clinical encounters such as task trainers, virtual reality simulators, virtual patients, and computerised full-body manikins, etc.
Participants discussed concrete medical solutions and services, as well as hurdles to increased EU or multinational cooperation from both industry and Member States’ perspectives. Another key topic was the potential impact of technological advancements on the future of operational environments and on the medium to long-term medical capabilities trends.