At their Chicago summit, NATO leaders adopted a political declaration that anchors Smart Defense at the heart of how the alliance will think about capabilities in the future. Industry is an important stakeholder in this initiative.

The shadow of past attempts at international procurement cooperation, however, leads industry to think about cooperation mostly in terms of delays and market-distorting principles. With this backward-looking mindset, industry risks missing a crucial growth potential, a market that will only exist because of Smart Defense.

Across the Atlantic, industry should seize this opportunity as eagerly as it would any good business development prospect. Simply put, the Smart Defense framework will offer a way to sell products that would not otherwise be sold.