NATO has launched a common procurement platform intended to give its 32 member states faster access to anti-drone capabilities, following an increase in drone incidents in Europe. The system presents equipment that has already passed a months-long evaluation and can be purchased or leased on a long-term basis.
A central route from tender to member purchase
The platform is designed as a shared purchasing route rather than a single purchase made for all NATO members. NATO first issued calls for offers, assessed the equipment and selected what it described as the most effective and least costly systems. Those products are then made available to each of the 32 member states through an e-commerce-style interface. Claudio Palestini, head of NATO’s Innovation Division, described the aim as a simple system for acquiring anti-drone capabilities. The arrangement therefore separates the initial supplier selection from the later decision by an individual member state to buy or take equipment on long-term lease.
Five suppliers have been selected
NATO received 80 offers and signed 16 contracts with five defence-industry companies. The selected suppliers are France’s start-up Alta Ares, Germany’s Quantum Systems, the United States’ Northrop Grumman and Axon, and the United Kingdom’s OSL Technology. The products were selected after an evaluation phase lasting several months. The source does not identify which supplier is linked to each capability, or describe the contract values or delivery schedules. It does establish a pre-qualified supplier pool through which member states can access equipment without each having to repeat the initial NATO-wide selection exercise.
Different systems address different threats
The equipment is intended to protect borders and other strategic locations, with capabilities spanning several methods of countering drones. The offer includes jamming systems, interceptor drones and other types of weaponry, including artillery. NATO said each capability costs between €1.6 million and €25 million. The range matters for public buyers because the platform does not represent a single standard product: member states can choose among different technical approaches and acquisition models. The source says the products are available for purchase or long-term lease, but does not specify the terms applying to individual systems.
Demand follows incidents across Europe
NATO’s initiative comes as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia regularly face drone incursions into their territories. Poland and Romania have also been affected by such incursions. At the 2025 summit in The Hague, NATO states committed to allocate at least $40 billion, approximately €37 billion, over five years to strengthen their anti-drone capabilities. The new platform gives that wider commitment a procurement channel: suppliers are screened centrally, while national authorities retain the choice of whether to acquire or lease the listed systems. The source reports the launch and commitments, but makes no claim that the platform has already changed incident levels.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Eligible buyers | 32 NATO member states |
| Offers received | 80 |
| Contracts signed | 16 |
| Selected companies | 5 |
| Capability cost | €1.6 million to €25 million |
| Long-term commitment | $40 billion over five years |
The idea is to propose a kind of e-commerce experience for purchasing these anti-drone capabilities.
WHY IT MATTERS
The model combines central supplier evaluation with national purchasing decisions. For defence suppliers, it creates a route to offer products to all 32 NATO members through one initial selection process. For public buyers, it provides access to evaluated equipment while leaving the final choice between purchase and long-term lease, and between different anti-drone technologies.
Reported from economica.net, 2026-11-05. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
