NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will say in London on Monday, the 9th of June, that the military alliance needs a 400% increase in air and missile defence, one of the priorities at this month’s summit in The Hague, according to remarks released to the press, reports Politico.
“We see in Ukraine how Russia is spreading terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our air,” he will said.
NATO allies need “a 400% increase in air and missile defence”, Rutte will argue in a speech at London’s Chatham House think tank.
“Our armed forces also need thousands of extra armoured vehicles and tanks, millions of extra artillery shells, and we need to double our support capabilities, for example in logistics, supply, transport and medical support,” he will say.
“The fact is that we need a quantum leap in our common defence. The fact is that we need more forces and resources to fully implement our defence plans. The fact is that the danger will not go away even if the war in Ukraine ends,” NATO Secretary General will say in a speech in London, expressing concern that Russia could try to attack Alliance territory.
Rutte will meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. His speech will come ahead of a major NATO summit in The Hague later this month, which will also be attended by US President Donald Trump.
At the summit, the allies are likely to agree to a new Trump-backed spending target of 5% of GDP – 3.5% for pure military spending and 1.5% for other, as yet unspecified, defence-related spending. This is a significant increase compared to the current 2% target.
Last week, NATO defence ministers approved new so-called capability targets. Although the details are classified, the priorities include air and missile defence, large land force formations, long-range capabilities and logistics.
NATO needs a 400% increase in air and missile defence, Rutte to urge
