NATO set to unveil billions in arms deals to prove Trump’s firepower

ANKARA – NATO on Tuesday, a series of new military projects worth billions of dollars will be presented in an attempt to convince US President Donald Trump that the allies intensify defense spending and transform investments into real firepower.

In an event dubbed “the big reveal,” several executives are expected to announce new deals with defense companies, many in the United States. Trump called NATO a “paper tiger” it would stop working without American weapons and leadership.

“We will announce tens of billions in new contracts that will provide the crucial equipment we need to deter and defend,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters on the eve of the alliance’s two-day military meeting. summit in Türkiye.

The defense industry boom comes weeks after Rutte tried to assuage US concerns about NATO military spending with a new land using a chart titled “The Trump Trillion” – showing $1.2 trillion in spending from European allies and Canada since 2017.

Far from impressed, Trump appeared unmoved, saying he was still disappointed by the refusal of some NATO allies to join NATO. the war in Iranwhich he had launched alongside Israel without consulting them.

“We don’t need their money, we don’t need anything,” Trump said. “I just want loyalty.”

NATO surveillance planes are about to be renewed

Among the contracts to be revealed, many of which were drawn up and some signed well before the summit, are expected to include one to replace NATO’s aging fleet of surveillance aircraft.

NATO as an organization does not own any weapons – these belong to the 32 member countries – but it does have a fleet of approximately 50-year-old AWAC aircraft and some newer surveillance drones.

Some of the other projects will be financed in particular with funds from a cheap loan system for defense purposes set up by the European Union, including up to $170 billion raised on capital markets.

“We must ensure that we translate our economic power into military capabilities, putting money to work, from defense plans to drones, from money to missiles and interceptors,” Rutte said.

The summit is held at the President That of Recep Tayyip Erdogan Ankara’s vast palace complex and Trump suggested he would come with gifts for the Turkish leader.

Netanyahu opposes plane sales to Turkey

But speaking Monday on the morning show “Fox & Friends,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the United States not to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, saying Erdogan “openly calls for the annihilation of Israel.” Turkey and Israel have acrimonious relations. Erdogan frequently accuses Israel of committing genocide in its war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Turkey was excluded from the F-35 program in 2019, after purchasing Russian-made planes S-400 missile defense systems. However, Trump, who enjoys warm relations with Erdogan, hinted ahead of his planned visit to Ankara for the NATO summit that sales could soon resume.

Netanyahu said the sale of Turkish F-35s “would disrupt the balance of power in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority and also, I think, by the American position in the Middle East.”

The Israeli Air Force relies on hundreds of American fighter jets, including F-35s, F-16s and F-15s.

Seeking a stronger Europe for a stronger NATO

The objective of the summit is a stronger Europe for a stronger NATO. The Trump administration has warned its allies that they must manage Europe’s security alone as the United States focuses on China and the Indo-Pacific region.

The Pentagon wants a reboot and is promoting what it calls “NATO 3.0,” a vision for the alliance in which Europe takes greater responsibility for its own defense, allowing the United States to focus on other priorities.

But increasing defense spending means raising taxes or diverting resources from other priorities. British Defense Secretary John Healey leave unexpectedly last month, saying the government was unwilling to spend at a time of growing threats.

Some northern and east-central countries are increasingly concerned that Russia may be preparing a hybrid attack – a combination of conventional warfare with tactics such as cyberattacks – against the continent. Russian President Vladimir Putin struggles to ensure victory in Ukraine.

Keir Starmer’s office said the British leader would focus “on building a stronger, more European NATO” on what is likely to be his final foreign trip as prime minister.

Starmer, who announced his resignation on June 22has been criticized by military leaders, opposition politicians and some members of his center-left party for the slow increase in British military spending.

His government has committed to meeting NATO’s budgetary target of spending 3.5% of gross domestic product on defense by 2035, but has no concrete plan to achieve it. Its current spending plan calls for spending to reach 2.7% of GDP by 2029.

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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.