BRUSSELS: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Monday that the alliance must ramp up its air and missile defense capabilities by a titanic 400%, citing urgent military gaps and rising threats from Russia and China in particular.
Speaking at Chatham House in London, Rutte warned that Russia is rapidly rearming and outproducing NATO in ammunition, saying starkly: “Russia produces in three months what the whole of NATO produces in a year.”
Rutte outlined a vision for a “stronger, fairer, and more lethal” NATO, underpinned by a new spending target of 5% of GDP on defense. Of this, 3.5% will go toward core military requirements, with the rest dedicated to infrastructure and industrial capacity.
He stressed that production, not just investment, is now the critical gap. “It is clear that right across the alliance, we are not producing enough. So as we increase defense investment, we need to increase defense production,” Rutte said.
He warned that delays in manufacturing mean some of the most advanced air defense systems would not be delivered for up to a decade if ordered today, a timeline he called unacceptable.
The NATO chief called for thousands more armored vehicles, millions of artillery shells, expanded logistics and medical support, and major investments in drones, cyber, and space capabilities. “The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defense. The fact is, danger will not disappear, even when the war in Ukraine ends,” he said.
Rutte insisted NATO remains a defensive alliance yet warned: “We are deathly serious that if anyone tries to attack us, that the consequences for that attacker will be devastating. Be it Russia or anyone else who tries to do anything against us.”
The alliance’s Hague summit scheduled for June 24-25, he said, will mark a defining moment in shaping NATO’s long-term security posture, including support for Ukraine and preparations to deter threats in the next three to five years.
He also met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his 10 Downing Street office to discuss boosting defense investment and production as well as continued support for Ukraine.
