Editorial: Cooperating To Cut Reaper Costs

This week in Paris, the NATO nations that operate General Atomics' Reaper remotely piloted aircraft will gather to share lessons to improve interoperability and reduce cost.

The Reaper has become the alliance's de facto system, with users that include Britain, France, Italy and the United States. The Netherlands is interested in acquiring the aircraft as well. Only the US and UK operate armed Reapers.

The nations in the NATO user group will hammer out rules of engagement for the organization and are expected to meet regularly.

A key Reaper priority for the nations is cutting training costs associated with the challenges of remotely operating such a large aircraft. Here individual nations could step up and provide a service for their allies. For example, Italy is considering opening an inhouse training school for Reaper operators that could be used by other nations.

At a time when NATO nations face budget pressures, internal terror threats and worries about Russian aggression, this type of cooperative approach could be applied elsewhere to improve interoperability as well as save money.

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