NATO to unveil tens of billions in defense contracts at Ankara summit

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Thursday that the alliance will unveil tens of billions of dollars in new defense contracts at next month's summit in Ankara, as member states seek to expand military production and strengthen collective security capabilities amid evolving global threats.

Industrial expansion

Speaking at the Atlantic Council Front Page event in Washington, Rutte said NATO allies must do more to translate their economic strength into military capabilities amid growing global security challenges. "We need to ensure that we are translating our economic might into military capabilities," he said. "This means overcoming fragmented national defense industries on basically the other side of the Atlantic, cutting red tape here in Washington and keeping innovation front and center across the alliance."

Procurement deals

The July 7-8 summit in Türkiye's capital will provide an opportunity to showcase progress in expanding defense industrial cooperation and increasing production capacity. "We will announce tens of billions of dollars of new contracts," Rutte said. He added that defense companies across the alliance were ramping up output to meet growing demand.

Ukraine solidarity

Rutte also reaffirmed NATO's support for Ukraine, saying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would attend the summit. "President Zelenskyy will join us in Ankara," he said. "We expect to show him and all Ukrainians that our support endures, and remind (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin that we are not going anywhere."