French Air Force Gen. Stéphane Abrial said March 10 that coming budget cuts for NATO's Allied Command Transformation, which he commands, will not be as large as first expected. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in downtown Washington, Abrial also said he wants to create a closer relationship with defense firms on both sides of the Atlantic.

Because NATO funding for developmental programs is all but certain to decrease, Abrial said the Norfolk, Va.-based Allied Command Transformation will be forced to pursue fewer programs.

Just a few months back, the NATO command chief said he expected sizeable funding cuts. He credited his staff for working to ensure "the cuts will not be as severe."

The conventional wisdom is "if you don't get resources up front … you cannot transform," Abrial said. "We must make sure we leverage everything a nation has … and is ready to share with NATO."

His approach will be to "increase the quality of our products." And, with a smaller annual budget, that means ACT can do fewer projects.

On industry collaboration, Abrial said he wants more dialogue with companies, while also making it easier for firms to understand NATO's hardware needs.

He has established an "industrial advisory council," and said "key players" on both sides of the Atlantic have already joined it.

Additionally, he said the alliance has "shortfalls in several capability areas," including

■ Command and control.

■ Situational awareness.

As alliance officials address those issues, Abiral said he will be looking for "pragmatism" and "innovation."

Further, he lauded U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates for late last year announcing the Pentagon would for the first time begin sharing information on its counter-improvised explosive device efforts. Sharing that data with allies who are also fighting the IED threat will be a "game changer" in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, where the crude devices have plagued U.S. and coalition troops for more than half a decade.

Finally, Abrial also applauded his native country's recent integration into the alliance, but said more must be done to find ways for closer French-NATO cooperation.