Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation

The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (French: Organisation conjointe de coopération en matière d'armement ;OCCAR) is a European intergovernmental organisation which facilitates and manages collaborative armament programmes through their lifecycle between the nations of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain,the United Kingdom.

History


OCCAR was established on 12 November 1996 by the Defence Ministers of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Legal status was not achieved, however, until January 2001 when the parliaments of the four founding nations ratified the OCCAR Convention. Other European nations may join OCCAR, subject to their actual involvement in a substantive collaborative equipment programme involving at least one OCCAR partner and acceptance of OCCAR's founding principles, rules, regulations and procedures. Belgium and Spain joined the organisation in respectively 2003 and 2005.

EU or NATO members Turkey, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Finland, Sweden and Poland participate in one or more OCCAR programmes without being a formal member.

Structure
The highest decision-making body within OCCAR is the Board of Supervisors (BoS). The board establishes subsequent Committees and its decisions are being implemented by the Executive Administration (OCCAR-EA). OCCAR-EA employs approximately 240 staff members.

Current programmes
The 7 programmes currently managed by OCCAR are the following:
 * Airbus A400M (tactical and strategical airlift)
 * Boxer MRAV (multi role armoured vehicle)
 * COBRA (Counter Battery Radar)
 * ESSOR (European Software Defined Radio)
 * FREMM (Multimission frigates)
 * FSAF / PAAMS munition (surface-to-air anti-missile system)
 * MUSIS (MUltinational Space based Imaging System)
 * Eurocopter Tiger (helicopter)