UPDATE (January 2021): In addition to Norway and Finland, The Netherlands and Belgium have also made use of the contract, strengthening their CBRN capabilities.
Luxembourg, 21 August 2020 – The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has signed a supply contract to provide NATO Nations and Partners with full Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) mask capabilities for the next ten years.
The contract, awarded to Avon Protection as a result of an international competitive bidding, includes the latest generation of Military Off-The-Shelf (MOTS) CBRN Air Purifying Respirators (including PAPR's, spare parts, filters and accessories). The new masks will replace the current CBRN mask capability for the Finnish Defence Forces and Norwegian Armed Forces, enabling the nations to counter the multiple CBRN threats encountered in modern warfare, anti-terrorist and peacekeeping operations.
NSPA was tasked to manage the acquisition process by the Nordic Defence Cooperation, NORDEFCO. The contract, available on the NATO Logistics Stock Exchange (NLSE), was established with the support of the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command (FDFLOGCOM) and the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) as 'Lead Nations'.