On Wednesday 10 July, the leaders of the member countries of the Atlantic Alliance (NATO) announced their determination to do “more together as Allies” to invest in a “strong and capable” defence industry, explaining that “transatlantic defence industrial cooperation is a critical part of NATO’s deterrence and defence”.
“Russia is on a war footing with regard to defence production. They’re significantly ramping up their production of weapons, munitions and vehicles (...) We cannot allow the Alliance to fall behind”, stressed US President Joe Biden earlier in the day. “We cannot be surpassed by anyone when it comes to our readiness”, he insisted.
Mr Biden said he was delighted that “all NATO members are making the pledge to expand our industrial base and our industrial capacity, like our defence-spending commitment”. In his view, this is a crucial step in maintaining the security of the Allies.
In their ‘NATO Industrial Capacity Expansion Pledge’, the Allies state that they will take advantage of the Alliance’s role as convenor, standards and requirements setter, aggregator and delivery enabler to increase defence industrial capability.
NATO members commit to adopting a more systemic approach to defence industrial development, developing and sharing individual national plans and strategies between Allies. “Each Ally will draft its own national plan, decide how to enhance industrial capability, capacity and responsiveness, revise the plans regularly, and report annually based on measurable outcomes”, the commitment states. The sharing of plans should improve the coordination and coherence of efforts, according to the Allies.
In addition, the Allies warn that “sustained, increased defence spending and firm orders, combined with long-term capacity investment, will enable industry to support the Alliance’s response to the challenges of an increasingly unpredictable and hostile security environment”, stressing the need to provide a clear demand signal to industry through firm orders and contracts, increasing multi-year procurement and sharing appropriate information on their key requirements.
The Allies also commit to strengthening the defence industry throughout the Alliance by promoting an “innovative, competitive and sustainable defence industry, where reciprocal cooperation and openness are the norm”. They therefore advocate continuing to reduce and eliminate, where appropriate, barriers to defence trade and investment between Allies.
They also intend to encourage more joint procurement, notably through multinational programmes, exploit the “considerable” potential of small and medium-sized enterprises, and accelerate the development and adoption of new technologies. The Allies also promise to take steps to provide the most critical capabilities required in the short term.
Finally, NATO members emphasise the need to strengthen cooperation with Ukraine and the Alliance’s partners. “To bolster defence industry, the Allies undertake to continue to take mutual steps with the European Union to strengthen coherence and complementarity of respective efforts and relevant work”, the document states, while the Europeans intend to develop their defence industrial and technological base by producing as much as possible ‘in Europe’ (see EUROPE 13450/3).
In the summit declaration (see EUROPE 13450/1), the Allies return to the development of European defence. While recognising “the value of a stronger and more capable European defence” that complements and is interoperable with NATO, the Allies warn that it is essential to develop “coherent, complementary and interoperable defence capabilities, avoiding unnecessary duplication”. In their view, it is also essential for the strategic partnership between NATO and the EU that non-EU Allies have “the fullest involvement” in EU defence initiatives.
See the pledge: https://aeur.eu/f/d0n
See the summit declaration: https://aeur.eu/f/d0s (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)