NATO must make ‘quantum leap’ of 400% in air, missile defence: Rutte – National

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

NATO must make ‘quantum leap’ of 400% in air, missile defence: Rutte – National

NATO members need to increase their air and missile defences by 400 per cent to counter the threat from Russia, the head of the military alliance plans to say on Monday.

Secretary-General Mark Rutte will say during a visit to London that NATO must take a “quantum leap in our collective defence” to face growing instability and threats, according to extracts released by NATO before Rutte’s speech.

Rutte is due to meet U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing St. ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands where the 32-nation alliance is likely to commit to a big hike in military spending.

Like other NATO members, the U.K. has been reassessing its defence spending since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Starmer has pledged to increase British defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2027 and to three per cent by 2034.

Story continues below advertisement

Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5 per cent of economic output on military spending and another 1.5 per cent on “defence-related expenditure” such as roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports. He said last week he is confident the alliance will agree to the target at its summit in The Hague on June 24-25.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

2:03
U.S. pushes NATO for 5% defence spending while Canada fails to hit 2% target

At the moment, 22 of the 32 member countries meet or exceed NATO’s current two per cent target.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

The new target would meet a demand by President Donald Trump that member states spend 5% of gross domestic product on defence. Trump has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the U.S. provides security to European countries that don’t contribute enough.

Trending Now

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Canadians facing device searches and detainment is ‘not a pattern,’ U.S. ambassador says

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Wanted dad searched ‘how to relocate to Canada’ before 3 daughters’ deaths

Rutte plans to say in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London that NATO needs thousands more armored vehicles and millions more artillery shells, as well as a 400 per cent increase in air and missile defence.

Story continues below advertisement

“We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” he plans to say.

“Wishful thinking will not keep us safe. We cannot dream away the danger. Hope is not a strategy. So NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance.”

European NATO members, led by the U.K. and France, have scrambled to coordinate their defence posture as Trump transforms American foreign policy, seemingly sidelining Europe as he looks to end the war in Ukraine.

Last week the U.K. government said it would build new nuclear-powered attack submarines, prepare its army to fight a war in Europe and become “a battle-ready, armor-clad nation.” The plans represent the most sweeping changes to British defences since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.

More on World
More videos

&copy 2025 The ********* Press

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#NATO #quantum #leap #air #missile #defence #Rutte #National

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up