Article 40 — Specific objective and activities of a Structure for European Armament Programme

1. A Structure for European Armament Programme (SEAP) shall foster the competitiveness of the EDTIB and, where relevant, of the Ukrainian DTIB. That shall be achieved by aggregating the demand for, and ensuring the timely availability and supply of, defence products throughout their life cycle, as well as by stimulating cross-border industrial cooperation. 2. To reach the objective referred to in paragraph 1, the principal tasks of a SEAP shall be at least one of the following: (a) the common development of defence products and technologies, including defence research and development, testing and certification; industrial capacity-building, including through industrialisation and commercialisation; and support to non-recurrent investments related to initial production or in-service support, in particular where the defence products are being or have been developed in the framework of actions funded by the Union under the corresponding Union programme; (b) the common procurement of defence products and technologies, including for the purpose of establishing, managing or maintaining defence industrial readiness pools; (c) the common life cycle management of defence products, including the procurement of spare parts, logistic or maintenance services and, where appropriate, the establishment of public-private partnerships to ensure efficiency and high availability of defence products; or (d) the dynamic availability management of additional quantities, ensuring an immediate and preferential purchase, use or lease option for Member States, associated countries or Ukraine in the context of defence industrial readiness pools. 3. A SEAP may entrust, by way of a delegation agreement, one or more of the eligible entities referred to in Article 11(2) with carrying out one or more of the tasks referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. The SEAP shall be responsible for ensuring that its obligations under Union law, and in particular under this Regulation, are met.