Category: NATO

Leaders came together for a series of events around the NATO Summit in The Hague on 24-25 June. 

On Tuesday, the Secretary General spoke at the NATO Public Forum – a conference that lasted two days and provided in-person and online audiences with an opportunity to dive into the decisions being made at the Summit, as well as other topics on which NATO is engaged. NATO also hosted a Summit Defence Industry Forum on the 24th that brought together political and military leaders, as well as industry, to advance efforts to boost defence industrial production across the Alliance. 

On Tuesday evening, the Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima hosted a social dinner for the leaders gathered for the Summit at the historic Huis ten Bosch. In parallel, NATO Defence Ministers held a working dinner, as did NATO Foreign Ministers who met, along with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, for a working dinner of the NATO-Ukraine Council.

At the formal session of NATO Heads of State and Government on Wednesday, Allied leaders adopted a summit declaration that set a new benchmark for defence investment, underlined the importance of ramping up defence industrial production, and affirmed continued support for Ukraine. With The Hague Defence Investment Plan outlined in the statement, Allies commit to investing 5% of GDP in defence – including 3.5% of GDP on core defence requirements and 1.5% on defence- and security-related investments like infrastructure and industry. This marks a major uplift from the previous benchmark of 2% of GDP.

“Together, Allies have laid the foundations for a stronger, fairer, more lethal NATO,” the Secretary General stated in a closing press conference. “These decisions will have a profound impact on our ability to do what NATO was founded to do – deter and defend.” Highlighting the challenges to Allied security, the Secretary General underscored, “whether from Russia or terrorism, cyberattacks, sabotage or strategic competition – this Alliance is and will remain ready, willing and able to defend every inch of Allied territory,” explaining that the new pledge would “ensure that our one billion people can continue to live in freedom and security.”

There were also a number of additional meetings held at the NATO Summit including a meeting of the NATO Secretary General, the President of Ukraine, and the Presidents of the European Council and European Commission; a meeting of the NATO Secretary General, the President of Ukraine, the President of France, the German Chancellor, and the Prime Ministers of Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom; and a meeting between the NATO Secretary General and NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners. 

The next NATO Summit is planned for 2026 in Türkiye.

Speaking at the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in The Hague, Mr Rutte emphasised the significant steps the Alliance is taking to strengthen its defence industrial capacity, increase cooperation, enhance innovation, and expand hundreds of new and existing production lines.  “There’s no defence without a strong defence industry, and there’s no European security without a strong transatlantic bond,” Mr Rutte said.

Urging Allies and industry to do more, better and together, the Secretary General highlighted the clear demand signal NATO is sending to the defence industry, through the massive uplift Allies have agreed in capability targets.

Joined onstage by the President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen, Mr Rutte welcomed the European Union’s Readiness 2030 plan that promises to unleash up to 800 billion euros for defence, and encouraged the removal of barriers to transatlantic defence cooperation.

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine also made a speech at the event urging further security assistance and increased defence industrial cooperation between NATO Allies and Ukraine. Mr Zelenskyy highlighted Ukraine’s growing defence industry and its world-leading drone production in particular, as an attractive basis for further collaboration.

The NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum brought together defence ministers, industry leaders and experts from across the Alliance and beyond to identify practical solutions to strengthen transatlantic defence industrial cooperation, boost production capacity, support innovation, and harness the potential of the commercial space sector.

At the start of the event, business leaders from Europe and North America presented the Secretary General with an ambition statement, reflecting their collective commitment to support NATO’s Industrial Capacity Expansion Pledge for the ‘prosperity, security and resilience of the Transatlantic economy and society’. NATO also released its first public version of the Updated Defence Production Action Plan, which outlines NATO’s commitment to aggregate demand, boost capacity and strengthen engagement with industry.

Multinational capability delivery initiatives are a cost-effective way of acquiring capabilities at speed and scale, which some Allies would not be able to do alone. 

This proven and valuable approach is gaining new momentum as Allies work to meet NATO’s newly agreed capability targets.

At the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum in The Hague on Tuesday (24 June 2025), Allies signed a number of new multinational projects and expanding existing ones.  Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Türkiye and the United Kingdom committed to the joint acquisition, storage, transportation and management of stockpiles of defence critical raw materials, including through recycling existing products. 

This High Visibility Project will help facilitate access to a sufficient supply of defence critical raw materials such as lithium, titanium and rare earth materials, which the Allied defence industry requires to deliver the capabilities needed to keep people safe. It will also help make NATO less vulnerable to supply shocks and reduce reliance on external providers. The project supports the implementation of NATO’s Defence Critical Supply Chain Security Roadmap, agreed by NATO Defence Ministers in June 2024.

The Multinational Multi Role Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF) programme also reached a new milestone, with Denmark and Sweden joining this initiative. In addition, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) signed a contract with Airbus Defence and Space for the acquisition of two additional A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, raising the current fleet to 12 aircraft. Launched in 2012, the MMF programme is an example of effective NATO-EU collaboration, supported initially by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and currently managed by NSPA. The fleet provides participating nations with critical capabilities in air-to-air refuelling, strategic airlift, and aeromedical evacuation.
 
Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands and Sweden also broke new ground in supporting the further integration of new technologies in military operations, announcing the establishment of the first NATO Innovation Ranges. These are a key pillar of NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan, which Allied Leaders are expected to endorse at the NATO Summit, and which aims to expedite innovation adoption, leverage new technologies at speed to deliver on capability targets, and increase production capacity through the inclusion of non-traditional suppliers in the defence industrial base. These ranges will enable Allies and NATO to test, refine, and validate new technological products in operationally realistic environments. 
 
The NATO Support and Procurement Organisation (NSPO), NSPA’s governing body, also signed a partnership agreement with Australia. The agreement will allow Australia’s participation in the full range of NSPA activities and services, including, but not limited to, the fields of acquisition, logistics, operational and systems support and services. This is an important milestone in NATO’s cooperation with partners around the globe.

At the signing ceremony, NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska also praised the conclusion of several new framework contracts by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) since January 2025, worth 4.7 billion euros, for critical munitions sourced from across the Alliance.

On Tuesday (24 June), NATO released public versions of these documents.

The Updated Defence Production Action Plan responds to the need for Allies to produce more and faster, in a rapidly-evolving security environment. The plan aims to improve Allies’ ability to aggregate demand, deliver cutting edge capabilities, and accelerate the growth of defence industrial capacity and production, including by providing long-term orders and clear demand signals to industry. 

Developed in consultation with industry, NATO’s first Commercial Space Strategy will allow the Alliance to integrate commercial solutions more flexibly and at pace, and ensure continuous access during peacetime, crisis and conflict.  The strategy aims to create more business opportunities and cut red tape in NATO’s procurement processes, simplifying how space companies engage with the Alliance, helping to increase commercial diversity, and strengthening partnerships across the Alliance.
 
NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan substantially accelerates the adoption and integration of new technological products for defence, across all military domains. Allies commit to expedite adoption procedures, including fast-track procurement, and to allocate adequate resources to that end. Allies will embrace more acquisition risk in the early stages of development and are set to improve communication of Alliance-wide demand signals. The plan provides for new testing and experimentation opportunities in operationally-realistic, real world environments by launching the NATO Innovation Ranges and scaling the NATO Task Force X Model.

“We meet at a truly historic moment, with significant and growing challenges to our security” Mr Rutte stated. “As the world becomes more dangerous, Allied leaders will take bold decisions to strengthen our collective defence, making NATO a stronger, a fairer and a more lethal Alliance.”

This week, Allies will approve a major new defence investment plan, raising the benchmark for defence investment to 5% of GDP. This will be agreed together with a concerted effort to ramp up defence industry across NATO, increasing security and creating jobs. There will also be a continued focus on support for Ukraine alongside the pursuit of a just and lasting end to Russia’s war of aggression.

Mr Rutte made clear that the new defence investment plan will be “decisive” to ensuring effective deterrence. While the details of national capability targets are classified, the Secretary General called for a five-fold increase in air defence capabilities, thousands more tanks and armoured vehicles and millions of rounds of artillery ammunition to help keep NATO’s one billion citizens safe.

Speaking ahead of the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum on Tuesday 24, Mr Rutte urged Allies to work with industry to expand their defence industrial base warning that “there is not nearly enough supply to meet our increased demand on either side of the Atlantic”. “By investing more and producing more, we build a stronger NATO” he stressed.

Strengthening partnerships will remain a key focus for the Alliance, with the Summit providing the opportunity to engage with Ukraine, NATO partners in the Indo-Pacific, and the leadership of the European Union.

Finally, on Ukraine Mr Rutte was unambiguous, “we must continue to make sure Ukraine has what it needs to defend today and deter in the future. Our support for Ukraine is unwavering and will persist” he affirmed.

Armenia is currently developing a new military education concept and doctrinal basis for its armed forces, in line with Western standards. NATO and Armenia will prioritise their cooperation on doctrine development, the approach to combined arms, strategic leadership, and on the drafting of a human resources concept for all different officer ranks and career paths.

NATO’s Defence Education Enhancement Programme is supporting the continued professionalisation of the Armenian security and defence structures, through institution building and faculty development activities, including by modernising the Language Centre and establishing an eLearning Centre in the national Military Academy. Additional efforts are being carried out to consolidate the National Defence Research University as strategic level military education institution and to boost the development of a NCO corps, with the aim to enhance the ability of Armenian personnel to work alongside NATO. 

Armenian Deputy Chief of Defence, Major General Arthur Yeroyan, underscored that the support provided by NATO through its Defence Education Enhancement Programme is key for the ongoing modernisation efforts of the Armenian forces and defence institutions.

The Deputy Secretary previewed the priorities of the NATO Summit in The Hague next week, where Allies are expected to agree a new defence investment plan that raises defence spending commitments to levels not seen in decades, reflecting the challenging security environment and taking into account the Capability Targets agreed by NATO Defence Ministers on 5 June 2025.  During her visit, increasing Allies’ defence industrial capacity and production and expediting innovation, adoption and integration in defence capabilities were among the main topics of discussion with executives from both established aerospace industry and start-ups. 
 
The Deputy Secretary General further stressed the importance of expanding and reinforcing transatlantic defence industry cooperation to ensure the delivery of the capabilities and technologies the Alliance needs now and in the future. 
 
The Deputy Secretary General also reviewed cutting-edge technologies in critical areas for defence including satellite communications, sensors and surveillance, secure information sharing and autonomous systems.

During his engagements with General Metin Gurak, the discussions focused on the road to the NATO Summit in The Hague, next week. Among other priorities, Admiral Cavo Dragone underscored in particular the importance for Allies to invest more in deterrence and defence. ​The CMC also praised Türkiye’s significant contributions within the Alliance, highlighting the country’s support and participation in NATO missions and exercise activities. Türkiye devotes more than 2 percent of its GDP in defence, and is channeling significant investment into its defence industrial base, working in close conjunction with countries across Europe and the United States.

While in Ankara, the Chair paid his respects to the memory of Türkiye’s fallen soldiers, by participating in a wreath-laying ceremony in Antikabir. In addition, he took the opportunity to engage with Turkish defence industry.