NATO aims to boost ground-based air defense fivefold amid threat of Russian aggression – Bloomberg
Photo: NATO wants to strengthen ground-based air defense fivefold due to the threat of Russian aggression (Getty Images)
NATO is asking European member states to expand their ground-based air defense capabilities fivefold, as the Alliance seeks to fill a critical gap in response to the threat of Russian aggression, Bloomberg informs.
According to sources cited by the outlet, the issue of buildup will be discussed at the meeting of the defense ministers of NATO member countries in Brussels on June 5, as the discussions are taking place behind closed doors.
The fivefold target will be collective for the European member states of the Alliance, while individual levels will be adjusted in the end, the sources said. The timeline for implementing air defense efforts has not been clearly defined.
Ministers are expected to approve one of the most ambitious commitments to increase weapons stockpiles since the Cold War this week, as part of European and Canadian efforts to rearm and reduce their dependence on US defense systems. The Brussels meeting will lay the groundwork for the leaders’ summit on June 24-25 in The Hague.
It is noted that the increase in armaments is part of broader ambitions to raise defense spending across the Alliance. Under US President Donald Trump’s leadership, NATO members are rallying around the goal of spending 5% of their economic output — 3.5% on core defense and an additional 1.5% on defense-related expenditures in areas such as infrastructure, cyber defense, and civilian preparedness.
"We are not at war, but we’re not at peace either. We must continue to strengthen our deterrence and defense and that means pivoting toward a full war-fighting readiness," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said at the meeting in Vilnius.
According to a senior European military official, NATO members urgently need to build up ground-based air defense systems that protect against threats, including increasingly sophisticated drones, missiles, and fighter jets.
The official noted that the Alliance has reduced the use of such systems over the past three decades as NATO’s focus shifted beyond the Cold War-era sphere to concentrate on threats in the Middle East and North Africa.
Putin is preparing for war with NATO
Earlier, a Bundeswehr report mentioned Russia’s preparation for a possible large-scale war with NATO. It is assumed that Vladimir Putin intends to achieve his goals by force.
The President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, stated that an attack from Russia could happen within a few years, and Lithuania has about four to five years to prepare.
In early May, it became known that Russia intensified its surveillance of NATO activities in the Baltic Sea and has also resorted to shows of force and provocations.
Recently, the North Atlantic Alliance requested Germany to provide an additional seven brigades — about 40,000 troops — to strengthen NATO’s defense.
