What is NATO like as a buyer and Finland as a defence market? In this article, we take a quick dive into NATO’s procurement processes, politics and the possibilities of Finnish industry in the NATO market – as well as the need for both new talent and long-term commitment in the defense industry.
This article summarizes the third episode of Unikie’s 15-minute technology podcast. In this episode, our guest is Tuija Karanko, Secretary General of the Association of Finnish Defence and Aerospace Industries PIA ry.
Association of Finnish Defence and Aerospace Industries PIA is an interest organization for Finnish companies within the defence, aerospace and security industries. PIA’s mission is to promote the operational conditions, competitiveness, and networking of its member companies both nationally and internationally, as well as to support Finnish authorities in comprehensive security matters.
“Finland’s recent NATO membership, EU activities and the current global security situation has definitely made our days at PIA more hectic. In recent years, we have also seen a clear increase in member companies; today we have already over 200 members,” says Tuija Karanko, Secretary General of the association.
PIA’s member companies – including Unikie – are an integral part of both Finland’s comprehensive security and military supply security. They deliver high-quality capabilities cost-effectively, operating in a networked manner both domestically and internationally.
What Is NATO Like As a Buyer?
According to Tuija Karanko, NATO has many procurement units, all with their special sets of rules. Even though work is done to harmonize the rules, the fact still remains that companies have to adjust to several different procurement practices.
“Some companies are better equipped than others. If a company has participated in a public tender, they know what to expect – NATO and its procurement rules adds its own twist to the matter,” Karanko says.
In addition to formalities, sometimes politics can come into play, too. This is especially true for high visibility projects that aim at building major capabilities for the entire alliance or several membership countries at once.
“Right now, the high visibility projects are an unexplored frontier for Finland and something we should keep our eyes on. When we get information early, we can also try to contribute to planning the projects.”
To make the information flow, networking and in-depth cooperation are essential.
Finland As a Defense Market
In addition to her role as Secretary General for PIA, Tuija Karanko has been appointed as the first Vice-Chair for the NATO Industrial Advisory Group (NIAG), a high-level NATO consultative and advisory body that drives dialogue between NATO and the industry.
In both her roles, she has seen increasing international interest toward Finland. In general, Finland is known as an open defense market, with less national protectionism and a history of procuring defense solutions from abroad.
“Now with Finland’s NATO membership, there has been a lot of talk of Finland’s strong, long-term investment in defense. So, there is definite commercial interest toward Finland – we have seen this through contacts from all over Europe,” Karanko notes.
Karanko has seen that Finland’s active role as a new member country in bearing NATO responsibility, along with the Finnish industry, has been well noted and praised internationally.
Defense Sector Requires Expertise and Long-Term Commitment
In addition to the challenging economic situation, one of the dark clouds looming in the horizon is the lack of educated experts in the high-technology industries. While Karanko acknowledges the issue, she takes a more positive point of view.
“Finns are highly motivated in national defense. We understand the role of technology as part of our defense and as young engineers are concerned, the defense industry is not being frowned upon – on the contrary, actually,” she says.
However, the fact remains that Finland’s industry needs more trained experts, young talent – and especially women, who are today an under-utilized reserve.
The need for new experts also underlines the fact that the defense industry requires long-term commitment also from the defense companies.
“Defense is not an opportunistic industry where you dip your toes for a quick win. You need to learn the customers and how the business works and be able to commit to providing solutions with lifecycles potentially spanning the next several decades,” Karanko concludes.
Watch the full podcast with English subtitles below.
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