Armament & Aerospace Capabilities Director, A&ACAP, NATO

Giorgio Cioni serves in the Defence Investment Division of NATO International Staff as Director of Armament and Aerospace Capabilities, with the responsibility to deliver coherent, coordinated and cross-cutting policy and capability outputs in Land, Maritime, Air and Space domains.

The Directorate plays a leading role in the areas of Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD), Aviation, Joint Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JISR) and oversees major NATO capability programs, including the Air Command and Control, Ballistic Missile Defence, NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control, Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (with its initial multinational acquisition of airborne platforms to replace the current AWACS fleet), Alliance Ground Surveillance, Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space, Digital Ocean as well as several multi domain capability projects which embrace emerging and disruptive technologies and uncrewed systems.

In the accomplishment of the objectives of his Directorate, Giorgio Cioni serves as Chair of some major Senior Policy Committees and other bodies. In particular, he is Acting Chair of the Integrated Air and Missile Defence Policy Committee, which is the leading NATO body for IAMD policy and capability matters, including the implementation of NATO Joint Air Power Strategy. He is the Chair of the NATO Aviation Committee and Airworthiness Executive, acting as NATO’s primary interface with international civil aviation organisations, European and North American aerospace institutions and other relevant regional and global bodies. As JISR Capability Area Manager, he carries out NATO-wide coordination of JISR capability development on behalf of the Conference of National Armament Directors (CNAD) and chairs steering groups of a number of multinational capability delivery initiatives in the air, land and maritime domain. As Chair of the Ballistic Missile Defence Steering Committee, he completed the comprehensive BMD program review and he is currently chairing the CNAD meetings focused on the enhancement of IAMD and AirC2 capabilities. In fulfilling his responsibilities, he maintains close relations with the National Armament Directors of NATO and Partner countries, European Union institutions, Trans-Atlantic industries and a large number of other organisations, institutions and stakeholders.

Doctor in Political Sciences, international relations, Giorgio Cioni graduated with full marks and laude. He also obtained a master’s degree in Administration and a further master’s degree in European law. Before joining NATO International Staff in 2002, Giorgio Cioni has a distinguished record of military service within the Italian Ministry of Defence focused on international relations, political-military security policies and capabilities and aerospace matters.

He is married to Patrizia with a daughter, Charlotte, and a son, Maximilian.