On Tuesday 19 May, the head of NATO’s Military Committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, said that the Allies needed to significantly increase the pace of deployment of the defence capabilities needed to protect their territory.
“The pace of delivery and commissioning of all the capabilities needed for our deterrence and defence requires a considerable increase and improvement”, he warned at the end of a session of NATO Chiefs of Defence.
In his view, it is imperative to turn the financial commitments made at The Hague Summit into concrete results, “with faster implementation to achieve a higher level of preparedness and enhanced deterrence”.
“We’re not at war, but we’re not at peace either. This is why we must redouble our efforts to concentrate investment in defence, in line with our commitments”, insisted Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, who “firmly” called on the defence industry to speed up production and adapt its business model to this imperative. He called for an end to fragmentation: “We risk spreading ourselves too thin, which could be the main risk when more funds become available”.
“Ukraine and the Middle East show us that warfare is now characterised by speed, firepower, software, drones, electronic warfare, space, and data. These are all areas where we still have a lot of work to do”, stressed the Supreme Allied Commander for NATO Transformation, Admiral Pierre Vandier. “If we want to make gains in power and speed, we need to know how to build fast, produce on a large scale, adapt quickly, and achieve a real operational impact. We also need to identify the segments of our industrial base capable of meeting these requirements”, he clarified.
Looking beyond defence capabilities, Pierre Vandier reiterated the need for armed forces capable of adapting, which in his view implies more rigorous and realistic training. “This involves cloud, data and AI architectures enabling nations to share information, connect systems, make decisions faster, and ensure resilience in the event of communications degradation. The issue is not innovation itself, but its implementation”, he added.
The American redeployment will have no impact on security. For his part, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, American General Alexus G. Grynkewich, went back over the American announcement to withdraw 5,000 troops from Europe.
“This decision has no impact on the implementation of NATO’s regional plans”, he promised. In his view, the more the European Allies strengthen their capabilities, the more the United States can reduce its capabilities in Europe and devote them to other global priorities. “We will continue to work (...) to ensure adequate coverage and optimum deployment to maintain our deterrent force”, he explained, while warning that “in the longer term, we must expect further redeployments as Europe strengthens its capabilities and becomes more involved in the conventional defence of the continent”. Alexus G. Grynkewich was unable to give a precise timetable for further American redeployments, but explained that this would be an “ongoing process over several years”.
During a debate on the subject in the European Parliament, High Representative of the Union Kaja Kallas said that despite these departures, “NATO’s commitment to deterrence remains intact”. “NATO will maintain a strong presence on its eastern flank, because looking weak is out of the question. The presence of American soldiers in Europe is in our interest, but also in that of the United States. The message is clear: Europe must assume greater responsibility for defence”, she added.
Cooperation with the EU. During their session, the Chiefs of Staff also met with the Chair of the European Union Military Committee, Irish General Seán Clancy, “in order to advance NATO-EU cooperation on concrete and essential military issues”, explained Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. “We are consolidating our already solid partnership. (...) By combining our complementary efforts and reinforcing each other, we can achieve much more”, he pleaded.
Asked about the Spanish proposal, and also that of the European Defence Commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, for a European army, the head of NATO’s Military Committee voiced his opposition. “We cannot really speak of a European army: it’s an oxymoron, nonsense, because NATO has no army and each nation retains sovereignty over its own armies. They are the ones who determine their actions. And they provide us, NATO, with everything we need”, he explained. So, in his view, if the EU carries out a military operation, it will use the same armies as NATO.
Giuseppe Cavo Dragone pointed out that the Alliance had a solid chain of command and operational guidance plans, while the EU had “a large financing capacity and significant leverage over industry” and regulatory power.
“In short, we are complementary by nature, and we need to stick to that principle, not only to avoid duplication, but also to avoid wasting money, time, and energy”, he concluded.
Middle East and Ukraine. Turning to the Middle East, Mr Grynkewich said that the Allies were “all agreed” that it was in their interests to guarantee freedom of navigation in international waters. “Our allies are mobilising”, he explained, pointing out that ships from Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, and the UK were deployed in the region.
Asked about the conditions for NATO’s participation in an operation in the Straits, he said that “a political decision” was needed for military planning to take place, while confiding that he was thinking about how the Alliance could help in the Straits.
Finally, the Chiefs of Staff also reiterated the Alliance’s “unwavering” support for Ukraine and the strengthening of its armed forces for today’s battles and tomorrow’s security. In response to concerns about the functioning of the PURL initiative, Alexus G. Grynkewich assured that “everything that the Allies have financed is on its way, including the air defence interceptors that the Ukrainians urgently need”. He reiterated that Ukraine needed “constant and predictable support from its allies”, and that this support remained “crucial”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)