NATO set to approve new military purchases as part of major defense spending hike

Brussels: NATO defence ministers are set Thursday to approve purchasing targets for stocking up on weapons and military equipment to better defend Europe, the Arctic and the North Atlantic, as part of a US push to ramp up security spending.

The “capability targets” lay out goals for each of the 32 nations to purchase priority equipment like air defence systems, long-range missiles, artillery, ammunition, drones and “strategic enablers” such as air-to-air refuelling, heavy air transport and logistics. Each nation’s plan is classified, so details are scarce.

“Today we decide on the capability targets. From there, we will assess the gaps we have, not only to be able to defend ourselves today, but also three, five, seven years from now,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said.

“All these investments have to be financed,” he told reporters before chairing the meeting at NATO’s Brussels headquarters.

Spurred on by their own security concerns, European allies and Canada have already been ramping up military spending, including arms and ammunition purchases, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

At the same time, some allies balk at US demands to invest 5 per cent of their gross domestic product in defense — 3.5 per cent on core military spending and 1.5 per cent on the roads, bridges, airfields and sea ports needed to deploy armies more quickly — when they have already struggled to grow their budgets to 2 per cent of GDP. Still, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that many appear on track to agree. “The commitment is there. 5 per cent on defence spending,” he told reporters after stepping out of the meeting.