STANREC 4792
STANREC 4792 guidance on co-operative armaments arrangements (AACP-01)
NATO nations and NATO bodies negotiating or drafting a Memorandum of Understanding for an international co-operative armaments programme
STANREC 4792 is NATO's non-binding recommendation that nations use AACP-01 (Volume I, Edition B) when negotiating and drafting international co-operative armaments MOUs; adoption is voluntary, not required.
- Edition
- 1
- Published
- 2017-02-27
What it is
STANREC 4792 is a NATO Standardization Recommendation, Edition 1, dated 27 February 2017. A STANREC is built the same way a STANAG is, with one difference that matters: a STANAG is an agreement nations ratify, a STANREC is a recommendation they are free to take up. The document says so directly - it "is a non-binding document employed on a voluntary basis and does not require commitment of the nations to implement the standards which are listed in it."
What it recommends
STANREC 4792 carries no negotiating rules of its own. Its aim, in its own words, is "to list recommended practices regarding: the development, drafting and negotiation of arrangements for armaments cooperation among nations" - in practice, the process behind a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or a Programme MOU for an international co-operative armaments programme. The one thing it recommends is a single document: "AACP-01, Volume I, Edition B." It also names AAP-20, the NATO Programme Management Framework (NATO Life Cycle Model), as related reading rather than an additional obligation. The catalogue's own NSDD structure also records this STANREC as covering MACP-01, though the document itself never names MACP-01.
Who is behind it, and how it is kept current
The tasking authority is the CNAD Life Cycle Management Group (AC/327); the custodian named in the document is the Netherlands (Mr Henk Visser). The STANREC "is to be reviewed at least once every three years," with the result "recorded within the NSDD," and "Nations and NATO bodies may propose changes, at any time, through a standardization proposal to the tasking authority (TA), where the changes will be processed during the review of the STANREC." This is the first edition: "This STANREC does not supersede any document."
Where it has force, and where it does not
STANREC 4792 addresses nations and NATO bodies negotiating a co-operative programme, not a supplier or manufacturer directly. It binds nobody by itself: whatever an organisation ends up doing follows from the MOU a nation actually negotiates, or from a programme office separately choosing to follow AACP-01's practice, not from this recommendation existing. It is a NATO non classified document, free of charge, handled under C-M(2002)60, and its reproduction restriction is lifted for member or partner nations and NATO commands and bodies.
How it is checked
STANREC 4792 names no certification body, no government quality assurance arrangement, no notified body, and no self-declaration scheme. The only assessment it describes is aimed at the document itself - the periodic review above - not at an organisation, a product, or a negotiation practice. Whatever review a company's involvement in a co-operative arrangement actually gets is set by whichever nation or programme office requires AACP-01 on a given programme, and that review sits outside this STANREC entirely.
How we help
STANREC 4792 is a cover document for a negotiation process, not a technical or quality-management standard: the practice it points to, AACP-01, governs how nations develop, draft and negotiate an armaments co-operation arrangement, and that work happens in a negotiation room and a programme or legal office, not inside a compliance tool. What ComplyTrain supports is the documentation trail that kind of work still needs: the internal procedure describing how a co-operative arrangement proposal is drafted, reviewed and approved before negotiation begins; training records showing the people involved were briefed on the organisation's own process; and the audit trail of internal reviews, approvals and changes made before a nation signs.
ComplyTrain does not negotiate on an organisation's behalf, does not draft or approve the legal terms of an MOU, and does not decide co-operative programme strategy - that is government to government negotiation and legal work. The applicable requirement on any given programme is set by the nations involved, not by us - explore the related standards this STANREC sits alongside, or talk to us about the documentation an internal approval process needs to hold up under review.
Standards it references
- AAP-20Background
Questions
Is STANREC 4792 mandatory?
No. It is a recommendation, not an agreement nations ratify. The document states that it "is a non-binding document employed on a voluntary basis and does not require commitment of the nations to implement the standards which are listed in it." Any obligation a nation or company meets comes from the MOU itself or from a programme office that separately follows AACP-01, not from the STANREC.
What is the difference between a STANREC and a STANAG?
A STANAG is an agreement NATO nations ratify, with reservations possible on implementation. A STANREC recommends a practice without asking for that commitment. STANREC 4792 recommends AACP-01; it does not ratify it.
What does STANREC 4792 actually recommend?
One document: "AACP-01, Volume I, Edition B," for developing, drafting and negotiating international co-operative armaments arrangements such as MOUs and Programme MOUs. It also points to AAP-20, the NATO Programme Management Framework, as further reading.
Is there a certification for STANREC 4792 or AACP-01?
No certification, government surveillance, or notified-body scheme is named in the document. The only review it describes is of the STANREC's own currency, at least once every three years, not an assessment of an organisation, a product, or a negotiation.
Does STANREC 4792 cost anything to obtain?
No. NATO standardization documents are free of charge; STANREC 4792 is not sold by NATO or by us.