NATO is asking European member countries to expand their terrestrial air defense capabilities five times, while the alliance runs to fill a crucial gap in response to the threat of Russian aggression, people said familiar with the matter.
The increase will be discussed at a meeting of the Ministers of Defense of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels on Thursday (5), the sources said on condition of anonymity, as the deliberations occur to closed doors.
The goal of multiplying by five would be collective to the European member countries of the Alliance, with individual levels varying at the end, the sources said. The deadline for air defense effort is not yet clear.
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Ministers are expected to approve this week one of the most ambitious commitments to increase weapons stocks since the Cold War as part of European and Canadian efforts to rear and reduce the dependence on US defense systems.
The meeting in Brussels will prepare the land for the leader summit on June 24 and 25 in The Hague.
The increase in weapons is part of broader ambitions to raise defense spending throughout the alliance. Driven by US President Donald Trump, NATO members are joining around the goal of spending 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – 3.5% in central defense and another 1.5% on defense -related expenses in areas such as infrastructure, cyberderafes and civil preparation.
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“We are not at war, but we are not at peace,” said NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at a meeting in Vilnius on Monday (2). “We must continue to strengthen our deterrent and defense, and this means directing to a total readiness for combat.”
Europe has faced insufficient air defense for years. The problem got worse after the countries sent much of their stocks to Ukraine after the large -scale invasion of Russia, which is already in its fourth year.
Defense authorities also warned that air defenses on the continent would be unable to provide sufficient coverage for terrestrial operations in case of attack.
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NATO members also urgently need to increase terrestrial air defense systems that protect against threats such as increasingly sophisticated drones, missiles and fighters, according to a high European military officer.
The alliance has reduced these systems in the last three decades as NATO’s attention has shifted out of the Cold War sphere to focus on threats in the Middle East and North Africa, the official said.
Germany pulls the initiative
This logic has changed since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 and the increase in fears in member countries on NATO’s eastern border that Kremlin is just a few years old to attack.
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Air defense systems are central to the increase – and are among the most expensive items the alliance intends to stock up.
Germany has offered to lead European Union’s joint projects in air defense, while Brussels has encouraged members to invest together in areas of common interest.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is determined to accelerate Germany’s expenses in defense and invest billions of euros in additional air defense, according to a person familiar with deliberations in Berlin.
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This will include an expansion of the European Sky Shield initiative, released by Merz predecessor, Olaf Scholz. The project, supported by NATO, aims to build a European terrestrial air defense system aimed at overthrowing ballistic missiles.
Responding to a request for comment, an NATO officer said air defense and antimysis, long -range weapons, logistics and land forces “are among our main priorities.”
“We continue to revise our strength stance, modernize our command structure and strengthen our integrated air defense and antimysis,” said NATO officer.
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