ABSTRACT
Italian military planning in general and weapons procurement in particular, is characterised by the lack of a strong centralised authority. The General Secretary of Defence (GSD), as National Armaments Director (NAD), coordinates the separate service General Directorates in charge of weapons procurement. The overall approach of the Italian government towards military and dual-use technology and industry has been to seek an institutional framework in which each country maintains a negotiated and balanced trade position corresponding as much as possible to the status quo. Italy would not welcome greater competition within Europe, nor with the other major Western arms producers; nor is it strongly committed to conversion. Rather than confront the implications of the overall decline in demand for military equipment, Italy is defending its military industrial interests; issues of national security and more strategic economic considerations have been of secondary importance. General guidelines for export policy were initially provided by an Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Exchange of Defence Weapons.
