NATO Standardization Office
NATO Standardization Office logo | |
| Abbreviation | NSO |
|---|---|
| Predecessor |
|
| Formation | 1951 (MSA) |
| Type | Military alliance |
| Purpose | Military standardization |
| Headquarters | Brussels, Belgium |
| Coordinates | 50°52′34.16″N 4°25′19.24″E |
Official language | English, French |
Director (DNSO) | Zoltan Gulyas |
Parent organization | NATO |
| Website | nso.nato.int/nso/ |
The NATO Standardization Office (NSO) (former NATO Standardization Agency, NSA; French: Bureau OTAN de normalisation) is a NATO agency created in 1951 to handle standardization activities for NATO. The NSA was formed through the merger of the Military Agency for Standardization and the Office for NATO Standardization. During the Agency Reforms, the NSA was transformed to the NATO Standardization Office (NSO) on 1 July 2014, headed by the Director of the NATO Standardization Office (DNSO).
The NSO is composed of military and civilian staff that was created to be responsible for standardization for both the Military Committee and the North Atlantic Council It also provides standardization to NATO members military forces, with the goal of interoperability between member nations. It is also the responsibility of the NSO to initiate, administrate over and promulgate a Standardization Agreement (STANAG).
NSO headquarters is located at the main NATO headquarters at Boulevard Léopold III, B-1110 Brussels, which is in Haren, part of the City of Brussels municipality.