NATO to Add Airbus A400M Transport Fleet and One More Tanker While U.S. Cuts Contributions

NATO will launch a strategic airlift fleet of Airbus A400M transport planes and add one aircraft to its existing fleet of A330 MRTT tanker planes, Al-Monitor reported. Secretary General Mark Rutte made the announcement on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. He spoke at a defense industry gathering where allies unveiled arms deals worth billions of dollars.

"It is about air power, which is essential to strengthen our deterrence and defence," Rutte said. The MRTT project currently has nine A330 aircraft based at Eindhoven, Netherlands. NATO aims to expand the fleet to 12 aircraft in the longer run.

Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden participate in the MRTT programme. The shared A400M fleet will involve Belgium, Britain, France, Spain, Turkey, Croatia, and Poland. The A400M was designed to meet a European shortfall in military cargo and troop transport to rugged areas.

The new A400M pool would initially be drawn from aircraft already in operation and then others in the industrial pipeline. The operation may eventually lead to new orders, though it was premature to speculate on how many or when, an Airbus spokesperson said. The United States has reduced its contributions to NATO defence plans, including refuelling aircraft, fighters, drones and ships.

The NATO summit in Ankara began in the evening of July 7, 2026.