NATO Needs 400% Increase in Air, Missile Defense, Rutte Will Say in London
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will use a speech in London on Monday to say the military alliance needs a 400% increase in air and missile defense, one of the priorities for a summit of members in the Hague later this month.
Rutte is pushing for members to boost defense spending to 3.5% of GDP and commit a further 1.5% to broader security-related spending to meet US President Donald Trump's demand for a 5% target. Last month, he said he assumed that target would be agreed at the summit on June 24-25, Reuters reported.
Rutte will argue in a speech at London's Chatham House think tank that for NATO to maintain credible deterrence and defense, it needs "a 400% increase in air and missile defense".
"... we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies," he will say, according to extracts of his speech provided by his office.
"The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defense. The fact is, we must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defense plans in full. The fact is, danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends."
With little let up in fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war despite ceasefire calls, European countries are under pressure to raise defense spending after Trump signaled a shift in policy, pushing for the region to better protect itself.
Several countries say they are doing so, with Britain pledging an increase from 2.3% to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and 3% of GDP at a later date. Germany has said it will need roughly 50,000 to 60,000 additional active soldiers under new NATO targets.
