Rutte: NATO needs to increase air and missile defence by 400%
During his speech in London on June 9th, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the military alliance needs to increase its air and missile defence capabilities by 400 percent, Reuters reports
Rutte insists that all NATO members increase defence spending to 3.5 percent of GDP and allocate an additional 1.5 percent for broader security-related expenditure, in order to ‘meet US President Donald Trump’s demand’ to reach the 5 percent target. Last month, he stated that he would agree to this target at the summit on June 24th–25th.
In a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London, Rutte defended the view that, to maintain reliable deterrence and defence, NATO needs to increase its air and missile defences by 400 percent.
“The fact is that we need a quantum leap in our collective defence. We need more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans fully,” he said.
Several countries have already stated that they are trying to meet the conditions. The UK, e.g., has promised to increase its defence spending from 2.3 percent to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027, and eventually to 3 percent. Germany has indicated that it will require an additional 50,000 to 60,000 active-duty soldiers to align with the new NATO objectives.
