NATO chief says allies signing defence deals worth "literally billions of dollars" at Ankara summit
Ankara, July 8
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday said member countries are signing defence agreements worth "literally billions of dollars" during the NATO summit in Ankara, CNN reported.
Speaking at the summit's defence industry forum, Rutte said allies were announcing "new major projects" aimed at strengthening the alliance's military capabilities.
"These are billions that are invested in our security, boosting our economies and supporting hundreds of thousands of new jobs. It's money well spent," Rutte said, according to CNN.
The alliance, in a statement, announced plans to procure five "high-end, high-altitude and long-endurance uncrewed aircraft" from Northrop Grumman and invest USD 40 billion in counter-drone capabilities over the next five years.
The counter-drone initiative will be accompanied by a plan for NATO allies to "train five times as many drone operators by the end of 2027."
"Drones have fundamentally altered the character of modern warfare and become a decisive factor on the battlefield," the alliance said in a statement, as cited by CNN.
"These initiatives will be essential to increase both Alliance readiness and resilience," it added.
CNN also reported that NATO announced plans to replace its ageing fleet of E3 surveillance aircraft with up to 10 GlobalEye aircraft manufactured by Swedish defence company SAAB, with some components and production involving the United States and Canada.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson described the programme as "a moment of great pride for Sweden."
According to CNN, Rutte also highlighted NATO's "remarkable progress" in increasing defence spending by member countries, an issue that has been a key point of discussion with US President Donald Trump, who has often criticised the alliance.
— ANI
Reader Comments
This is just fueling the global arms race. Why can't they invest that money in climate change or healthcare instead? India should focus on self-reliance, not copying Western military models.
5 high-end drones and $40 billion on counter-drone tech? That's a lot of money! But at least it's creating jobs in allied countries. Meanwhile, we need to strengthen our own indigenous defence production. 🇮🇳
Finally, NATO is getting serious about drones! The war in Ukraine showed how critical unmanned systems are. This makes sense for collective defence. Good decision, Mr. Rutte.
India's defence budget is always scrutinised, but NATO spends billions without blinking. The hypocrisy! Also, 'rising tensions' is their favourite excuse to sell more weapons. 🙄
Interesting to see Sweden's pride in the GlobalEye deal. For India, this is a reminder to invest in our own aerospace tech. We can't keep importing everything.
Training 5x more drone operators by 2027 is ambitious, but where will they get the human resources? Meanwhile, India's Drone Shakti scheme is a good step, but we need faster progress. ✈️
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