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In January 1996, following the decision of the Nations participating in the most technologically advanced aeronautical programmes ever undertaken in Europe (i.e. Tornado and Eurofighter) to merge the former MAMMA (NATO MultiRole Combat Aircraft Development, Production and In-service Support Management Agency) & NEFMA (NATO European Fighter Aircraft Development, Production and Logistics Management Agency), a new NATO executive body was born: NETMA.
The two former NATO bodies NAMMO & NEFMO were maintained but with a single executive body for the management of the Tornado and Eurofighter Programmes.
NETMA embodies the continuation of the two mentioned programmes, simply adding the benefits of integrating the management Agencies into a single one. In addition, the merger has shown through the years that working as a single Agency has created a better team spirit and that the problems and lessons learnt in one programme are better understood and applied to the other-one.
NETMA manages the Tornado and Eurofighter Programmes under the authority delegated by the Member States (Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.) and receives its guidance through the NAMMO & NEFMO Committees and Boards which, in accordance with the NETMA NATO Charter, have the task of assuming the direction, the co-ordination and the execution of the programmes.
Each of the Member States undertakes to fulfil the provisions and intentions laid down in the Memorandums of Understanding signed by them. For the Tornado Programme the framework document is MOU 14 since this programme is in the In-Service support phase. For the Eurofighter Programme 7 MOUs have already been signed for different purposes and are governing the programme.
The main entities of NAMMO and NEFMO are the Joint Steering Committee and the NEFMO and NAMMO Boards of Directors. In both programmes several subordinate committees and groups of experts have been established and meet regularly to ensure the proper execution of the programmes.
In the JSC and the BOD's meetings, decisions are taken with each of the Nations having one vote but, following NATO philosophy, all decisions are taken on the basis of unanimity, therefore guaranteeing that all the national concerns and points of view are taken into account and that no one Nation imposes its interest on the others despite the percentage of programme participation. Tornado and Eurofighter are collaborative...