On Tuesday 24 June, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on the transatlantic defence industry to deliver on its promises, pointing out that “there’s no defence without a strong defence industry”.
“We must spend more, to prevent war. We must win this new war of production”, stressed Mr Rutte at a forum on industry, pointing out that Russia, whose economy is 25 times smaller than NATO’s, was capable of surpassing the Allies in terms of production and armaments.
Mr Rutte also called for transatlantic cooperation, arguing that there was “no European security without a strong transatlantic bond”. While welcoming the EU’s ‘Readiness 2030’ plan, the Secretary General called for barriers to be broken down and for genuine transatlantic defence cooperation to be encouraged at a time when the SAFE programme is limiting the participation of third countries. “Only Europe and North America together can rise up and meet the challenge. And this includes working with Ukraine. An industrial and innovation powerhouse”, he added. He went on to emphasise that: “We need to do more, we need to do it better, and together”.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, his country’s production potential - nearly 1,000 types of product, from artillery and traditional armed vehicles to advanced drones - is worth $35 billion, but it lacks 40% of the funding.
According to the Dutch Defence Minister, Ruben Brekelmans, this cooperation must not only transcend borders, but also professions. He emphasised the need for new types of partnership between government and industry, “not the classic game of ‘buyer and seller’, but new partnerships based on trust, transparency, a long-term vision and a common goal”. Stating that he was faced with a dilemma between the need for international cooperation and the pressure for his national industry to benefit from the increase in Defence budgets, the Minister called for transparency on the subject and for solutions to be found with “intelligent modes of cooperation that are beneficial to all”.
For her part, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, reiterated that the EU could contribute to NATO’s objectives. “While NATO sets the standards and the capability targets for allies, our Union can help connect the dots between different industries, between civilian and military, and between NATO and non-NATO countries”, she explained.
For their part, the business federations of NATO member countries presented Mr Rutte with their joint commitment to strengthening the Alliance’s defence industrial capabilities and production, saying they were ready to “contribute to the security of the Alliance, at this pivotal moment”. Their “Ambition Statement” supports the ‘NATO Industrial Capacity Expansion Pledge’, announced at the Washington Summit, and aims to support the implementation of the Pledge’s objectives, particularly in collaborative research and innovation, standardisation and interoperability, supply chain resilience, public-private partnerships and access to capital, risk sharing and support for workforce development.
See the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/hjh
Strengthening multinational projects. During the Forum, several Allies strengthened their cooperation in multinational projects.
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom have undertaken to jointly acquire, store, transport and manage stockpiles of defence critical raw materials, in particular by recycling existing products. According to a NATO press release, this project will “facilitate access to sufficient supplies” of these raw materials, such as lithium, titanium and rare earths.
Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Sweden have announced their support for the increased integration of new technologies into military operations, with the creation of the first NATO Innovation Ranges, which “will enable Allies and NATO to test, refine and validate new technological products in realistic operational environments”.
Denmark and Sweden, meanwhile, have joined the programme for a multinational fleet of multi-role tanker aircraft. For its part, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has signed a contract with Airbus Defence and Space for the acquisition of two additional A330 Multi-Role Tanker Aircraft, bringing the current fleet to 12 aircraft. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)