The National Armaments Directorate

The National Armaments Directorate (NAD) translates the Ministry of Defence’s political, administrative and strategic dispositions into operational indications. It aims at continuously improving the military instrument, both from a technological-industrial and a technical-administrative perspective. At the same time, the Italian Chief of Defence provides the NAD with technical and operational instructions concerning research and experimental activities, as well as the acquisition of weapon systems and materiel.

With regard to the overall planning of the military instrument, the NAD prepares, together the Defence Staff, annual and multiannual planning proposals for defence industry and research activities.

Turning innovation into operational capabilities

In the current complex and ever-evolving geostrategic environment, marked by growing technological competition, regional instability and the transformation of operational domains, the NAD is committed to strengthening and recalibrating the partnership between defence and industry. Current operational requirements demand increasingly advanced capabilities that must be delivered as quickly as possible. This calls for a non-traditional approach capable of consolidating structured, continuous and result-based cooperation frameworks. In this context, the NAD’s role is to coordinate innovation, experimentation and procurement, ensuring that technological progress is swiftly translated into effective operational capabilities for the Armed Forces.

Italy’s technological advantage relies not only on the capabilities of its Armed Forces, but also on how effectively they work with the industry — from large, established companies to small, innovative start-ups. In this scenario, the industry plays a pivotal role in safeguarding technological autonomy and the NAD promotes an ecosystem in which industrial skills, research and operational needs converge. Thanks to this approach, innovation can be identified at an early stage, development cycles are streamlined, and both current and future challenges can be addressed swiftly and continuously. From this perspective, the NAD helps strengthen the country’s ability to adapt to change, turning innovation into a tangible factor of operational superiority.

From Transactions to Strategy: The NAD-Industry Partnership

The National Armaments Directorate has embarked on a profound transformation of its relationship with industry, shifting from a purely transactional model to a strategic, continuous, and long-term partnership. The NAD recognizes that companies, including start-ups and innovative Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), are essential actors in the development of dual-use goods capable of generating value in both civilian and military contexts.

Within this framework, industry is engaged as a partner in capability development from the earliest stages: identifying requirements, experimenting with solutions, and validating outcomes. This approach fosters innovation, accelerates the transition to operational deployment, and strengthens the competitiveness and sustainability of the defence industry at the national and international levels.

Building an integrated ecosystem

The NAD plays a central role in building an integrated ecosystem capable of consistently connecting industry, research institutions, academia, and institutions. In particular, the Directorate aims to consolidate and safeguard supply chains, ensuring their resilience in the face of operational, economic, and geopolitical pressure. At the same time, it promotes common standards, open architectures, and interoperable solutions. These are essential elements for achieving systemic integration and efficiency in multinational contexts. This coordination effort helps create a reliable and robust environment in which innovation can flourish and translate into deployable capabilities.

Within this ecosystem, SMEs and start-ups play a particularly significant role. Their capacity for innovation and agility can be decisive; however, they often face challenges related to access to capital, scaling, and navigating procurement procedures. The NAD’s task is to reduce these barriers, enabling emerging companies to compete internationally and enhancing their contribution as a driver of national capability development.

Accelerating innovation

Accelerating innovation and ensuring its rapid adoption is a strategic priority, essential to reducing the gap between traditional development cycles and evolving capability needs. To this end, the NAD promotes a dynamic, results-oriented cooperation model based on continuous, adaptable, and verifiable processes. Through rigorous experimentation, agile methodologies, and the incremental development of capabilities, the Directorate helps bridge the gap between technological maturity and operational deployment.

Within this framework, innovation is no longer seen as a linear process, but as a governed and continuous trajectory designed to deliver relevant capabilities more rapidly, while still preserving reliability, security, and compliance with applicable standards and regulations. The NAD acts as an “institutional accelerator,” supporting innovation throughout the entire capability lifecycle, from design and development to adoption and sustainment.

The strategic trajectory

The NAD’s strategic trajectory is future-oriented and grounded in a long-term vision. The transformations currently underway are not merely procedural adjustments; they represent a substantial realignment that requires continuous adaptation and the effective management of complexity. Within this framework, industry evolves from supplier to capability partner, working with the Armed Forces from the earliest stages of development and pursuing a shared path at both the operational and strategic levels.

The NAD’s function has also evolved. Beyond acting as a client, it now is an active partner in innovation, shaping demand, sharing risks, and contributing to the acceleration of capability delivery. The NAD is the link between defence strategic requirements and national ingenuity, aligning outcomes and incentives. Its ultimate aim is to ensure that the Armed Forces are equipped with the appropriate tools to remain effective and credible in present and future complex, multidimensional scenarios.

In the years ahead, the technological advancement of the Armed Forces will depend not only on the volume of resources or the scale of procurement programmes, but also on stability, agility, and diversity. By transforming contractual engagement into genuine cooperation and suppliers into partners, the NAD, through its integrative and strategic role, will help ensure that national industry becomes a true strategic advantage, capable of innovating rapidly in response to evolving challenges