The Direction générale de l’armement (DGA; English: Directorate General of Armaments), is the French Government Defence procurement and technology agency responsible for project management, development and purchase of weapon systems for the French military. The DGA's mission is to prepare the future of French defense systems, equip the French armed forces and promote French defense industry exports. Armament project coordination The DGA coordinates armament projects with the industry in France, within Europe, but also with customers for export. Together with the Europe of Defence organisation, the DGA promotes the development of armament projects in co-operation and contributes to the development of the European Defence Agency. Fifteen cooperative armament projects are under way. The OCCAr (Joint Organisation of Co-operation as regards Armament) ensures the control of six projects intended to equip the French force, inter allia: combat Tiger helicopter, ground-to-air missiles short Roland/Frole range, Cobra counter-battery radar, family of ground-to-air systems future (FSAF), A400M military transport aircraft, PAAMS anti-aircraft system. Other activities Testing and expertise The DGA also undertakes the testing and assessment of equipment and military technologies. Test centres are distributed across France to carry out studies in advanced technologies: DGA Hydrodynamics, DGA Aero-engine Testing, DGA CBRN Defence, DGA Information superiority, DGA Land Systems, DGA Missiles Testing, DGA Naval Systems, DGA Flight Testing, DGA Aeronautical Systems, DGA Engineering & Integration. These services contribute to the validation of industrial equipment, but also to the proving of military systems for the programme directorates. Since 2004 DGA, has been organised into two subdirectorates for the coordination of projects dealing respectively with the inter-systems technical approach (Service of architecture inter-systems) and with technological developments (responsible for domains). Engineering schools In addition, DGA supervises engineering schools that operate under the scrutiny of the Ministry of defence (École polytechnique, ENSTA ParisTech, Supaéro, ENSTA Bretagne, ENSICA). The high-level military staff of DGA, the Corps of Armament whose members are the ingénieurs de l'armement (IA, literally, "Armament Engineers"), are commissioned officers, who are generally graduates of the École polytechnique, then the ENSTA or Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace. The main part of the engineers, the ingénieurs des études et techniques d'armement (IETA, literally, "weaponry studies and technics engineers") are graduates of the ENSIETA or ENSICA. Naval building The DGA also formerly had a division for building warships, the Direction des constructions navales ("Directorate of Naval Construction"), now formed into a partly state-owned corporation, DCNS. List of