NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will call on European defense companies next week to increase investment and production volumes, as the Alliance seeks to strengthen Europe’s military capabilities and “appease” US President Donald Trump.
This is reported by the influential publication FT.
Rutte plans to meet with the heads of leading European defense companies in Brussels to urge them to act quickly and lay the groundwork for key announcements at the NATO summit in Ankara in July.
Ahead of the meeting, the companies were asked to provide information on major investments and their capacity to increase production, with a particular focus on air defense and long-range missiles.
Rutte regularly meets with the heads of leading European defense companies, but bringing together representatives from such a large number of companies at a single meeting is an unusual situation, industry representatives note. It also underscores NATO’s urgent need to demonstrate industrial growth at the leaders’ summit in Turkey.
Representatives from the continent’s leading arms manufacturers, such as Rheinmetall, Safran, Airbus, Saab, MBDA, and Leonardo, are expected to attend the meeting.
“We do not comment on the details of private, informal meetings,” Airbus said.
Rheinmetall, MBDA, and Leonardo declined to comment. Safran and Saab did not respond to the FT’s request for comment.
NATO wants European arms manufacturers to help meet Trump’s demands for increased defense spending, as the Alliance seeks to appease the US president’s outrage over allies’ failure to support a war against Iran. These investments are also aimed at reducing the continent’s dependence on the U.S. amid growing concerns about Washington’s commitment to the region.
Last year at the NATO summit in The Hague, Alliance leaders agreed to Trump’s demand to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP. By focusing the Ankara meeting on arms supply deals, the impact of this pledge can be demonstrated and allow Trump to take credit for it, officials said.
“The point is to make the increase in defense spending look more realistic,” said one of the officials.
Rutte wants European defense companies to invest quickly, without waiting for significant new government contracts.
European defense companies and defense ministries have been at odds in recent years. Companies have argued that governments are not signing enough long-term procurement contracts. Governments have argued that the sector has failed to ramp up production capacity quickly enough.
Despite this tension, Rutte also wants to hear from companies about the obstacles to increasing production to meet NATO’s needs.
Although European companies have taken steps to address the ammunition shortage, access to long-range missiles is now one of the key issues for European capitals.
Berlin is trying to acquire American Tomahawk cruise missiles to bolster its defense against Russia, and this task has become even more urgent after the Pentagon scrapped plans to deploy its own equipment. At the same time, European governments are pressuring local companies to accelerate plans to develop alternatives.
In early May, the Pentagon announced plans to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany amid a dispute between Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran. That war also forced the US to deplete its stockpiles of critical weapons.
All of this has served as a new “wake-up call” for Europeans regarding the need to rapidly strengthen their production capacity and capabilities.
If European NATO allies reach the target spending level of 5%, this will mean a cumulative increase in annual defense spending by 2035 by USD 1 trillion compared to 2024.
NATO officials say they want to conclude major agreements in key areas where European armies rely heavily on the US: air defense, long-range missiles, and intelligence and surveillance capabilities, such as space satellites.
Some companies will unveil plans next week to address challenges related to the need to expand production capacity and increase the workforce, secure supplies of critical raw materials, and strengthen supply chains, and one of the FT’s sources added that the meeting will discuss how to reduce dependence on Chinese and Taiwanese components.
"The NATO Secretary General regularly meets with representatives of industry and financial institutions from all Alliance countries to encourage increased production, innovation, and investment to meet our combat capability needs," a NATO representative noted.
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