NATO receives delivery of U.S.-made precision-guided munitions

Aug. 22 (UPI) -- The NATO Support and Procurement Agency received its first order of precision-guided munitions acquired through a NATO program involving 11 members and partners.

The PGMs are manufactured in the United States and will be delivered to Belgium and Denmark in the next several weeks, NATO announced on Wednesday. The value of the initial order is $20 million.

The delivery is part of a 2014 cooperative program launched at the NATO summit in Wales meant to acquire compatible PGM stocks capable of being used by all NATO members.

Part of the initiative is to reduce the NATO alliance dependence on U.S. air support. Traditionally, the United States has provided the overwhelming majority of air-to-ground strikes and other kinds of support in NATO operations.

"This initiative seeks to address a problem that NATO first encountered during the Libya Operation. When some allies ran out of their stockpiles of munitions, they found it incredibly difficult to use those of other air forces," NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller said in a press release.

"We realized that we needed a new, flexible approach to the provision of air-to-ground precision-guided munitions. I am happy that this approach is now delivering its first results," Gottemoeller said.

Precision-guided munitions cover a broad array of bombs, missiles, artillery and other systems. They can use GPS, laser guidance, radio frequency, radar and other methods to help ensure an accurate strike against both stationary and moving targets.