OCCAR Director at EDA to discuss cooperation and bilateral roadmap

The OCCAR Director, Matteo Bisceglia,  visited EDA today to discuss the bilateral cooperation and programmes of relevance to both organisations with its Chief Executive, Jorge Domecq.

EDA-OCCAR cooperation has deepened significantly since the signature of an Administrative Arrangement in 2012. As privileged partners in the field of defence capabilities development, EDA and OCCAR share information on projects and programmes of common interest throughout their lifecycle, helping to guarantee a seamless handover in each case, with both parties remaining involved and informed at every stage.

The Chief Executive of EDA and the OCCAR Director during the meeting ©EDA

Today was the second meeting between Mr Bisceglia and Mr Domecq, their discussions mainly focused on the state of play of bilateral cooperation to support key programmes and activities, including the Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF), MALE RPAS and ESSOR). Mr Domecq outlined EDA’s latest developments in these projects, notably the recent high-level coordination mechanism for RPAS ATI held at EDA and updates from the ESSOR workshops.

"I believe that EDA and OCCAR cooperation avoids duplications in the European Armament field. We have to take stock and make use of the available resources, and OCCAR has 20 years of proven record in the successful delivery of complex armament programmes.”, Mr Bisceglia said. 

Mr Bisceglia and Mr Domecq also discussed EDA-OCCAR interaction in areas such as REACH and the Military Airworthiness Authorities Forum.   

“EDA and OCCAR are two important actors in European defence cooperation, our close relationship has been extremely positive for our organisations, programmes and defence cooperation in general, which have all benefited from each other’s expertise”, Mr Domecq commented.