NATO Unveils Multibillion-Dollar Arms Deals as Trump Pushes Allies to Raise Defence Spending
NATO member states announced arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars at the alliance’s summit in Turkey on Tuesday, as Secretary General Mark Rutte called for a “transatlantic defence industrial revolution” to strengthen the bloc’s military capabilities.
Speaking at NATO’s defence industry forum in Ankara, Rutte said the alliance’s defence industry needs to turn funding into contracts faster, and take on more risk to speed up production. “So now let’s deliver even more, even faster, and together,” he said. He also said NATO members had spent $37 billion over the past year, and that the alliance’s annual artillery shell production would reach four million by next year.
New procurement initiatives unveiled
At the same forum, he unveiled a series of multinational procurement initiatives, inviting representatives from member countries to join him on stage. “We can do more when we do it together. And we must do more of it,” he said, adding that allies were joining new procurement coalitions to build up capabilities across several sectors. NATO members will also invest more than $40 billion over the next five years in anti-drone capabilities, he said.
Some of the agreements had not been made public before the summit. They include European countries buying surveillance drones from the US company Northrop Grumman, and NATO acquiring surveillance aircraft from the Swedish manufacturer Saab. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed that Saab will supply up to 10 GlobalEye airborne surveillance aircraft to a consortium of 10 NATO countries, calling it “a moment of great pride” and describing the aircraft as “made within the alliance for all the alliance.”
US in talks on joint missile production in Europe
The United States is also discussing jointly manufacturing missiles in Europe with Germany and other European countries, part of an effort to meet rising demand for weapons to support Ukraine’s defence. The talks come amid concern that US defence manufacturers are struggling to keep pace after the wars in Ukraine and Iran depleted American weapons stockpiles.
Trump keeps up the pressure on spending
The announcements follow repeated calls from US President Donald Trump for NATO allies to raise defence spending and rely less on the United States for their security. On Monday, Rutte said European NATO members had made “staggering” increases in defence spending, driven both by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and by what he called Trump’s “extremely forceful” pressure on allies.
Last month, Rutte said NATO’s European members and Canada had raised defence spending by $90 billion in real terms in 2025 compared with 2024, bringing total spending to more than $570 billion, an increase of around 20 per cent.
Tensions over Iran strikes and NATO commitments
Relations within the alliance have grown more strained since the United States struck Iran militarily, with Trump repeatedly criticizing NATO allies over what he called inadequate support during the conflict. He has previously threatened to withdraw the US from NATO or disregard the alliance’s collective defence commitments.
European officials say they met their obligations by allowing the US to use their airspace and military bases, even though they were not consulted before the strikes, which they say carried significant economic consequences and drew widespread opposition across Europe.
The US has also said it will reduce its military presence in Europe, scaling back troop deployments assigned to NATO defence plans and launching a six-month review of its forces on the continent. Trump has repeatedly described NATO as a “paper tiger” that would struggle to function without US military leadership and defence capabilities.