NATO Must Boost Air Defense Capabilities by 400% — Secretary General Rutte

NATO must increase its air and missile defense capabilities by 400%, Secretary General Mark Rutte is expected to announce in an upcoming speech in London, according to Reuters.

Rutte will also call on member states to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, with an additional 1.5% allocated to broader security needs — a total of 5% — echoing demands made by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Spain remains the only NATO country that has not yet endorsed the Alliance’s goal of spending 5% of GDP on defense by 2032.

Rutte said last month he expects the commitment to be confirmed at the NATO summit scheduled for June 24–25.

Speaking at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, Rutte is set to argue that NATO requires a fourfold expansion of its air defense capabilities to maintain credible deterrence.

“We see in Ukraine how Russia is conducting terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” an excerpt from his remarks reads.

In May 2025, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) signed framework agreements with five defense contractors: ASELSAN, Airbus Defence and Space, Lockheed Martin UK, Raytheon, and Thales LAS.

These companies are participating in the conceptual phase of NATO’s future air defense architecture. This stage is expected to be completed by mid-September 2025.

At the same time, European countries are also developing air and missile defense capabilities under the European Sky Shield Initiative, launched by Germany in 2022 in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The initiative, now joined by 21 states, aims to reduce costs through joint procurement, coordinated training, and shared logistics and maintenance.