NATO Allies Plan Over $40 Billion in Drone Defense and Surveillance Systems

NATO allies will invest more than $40 billion in counter-drone capabilities over the next five years, Secretary General Mark Rutte said Tuesday at the alliance summit in Ankara, Turkey. Rutte made the announcements during the NATO defense industry forum.

The alliance also plans an Amazon-style drone marketplace to simplify parts procurement and expects to train five times as many drone operators by the end of 2027 through its multinational Flight Training Europe initiative.

Nine countries agreed to fund a developmental generic NATO 155mm ammunition round. Six others launched the Ground-Based Precision Strike Capabilities High Visibility Project. Eight countries started the Hybrid Alliance Layered Operations in Space initiative to link nationally owned military satellites.

A dozen countries joined a project on defense-critical raw materials. NATO is advancing toward a full fleet of 12 Airbus A330 Multirole Tanker Transport aircraft, with Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden involved in delivery of the tenth.

Belgium, Croatia, France, Poland, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom will lead a new fleet of Airbus A400M transport aircraft.

Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Norway will procure up to five MQ-4C Triton high-altitude drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The alliance selected Saab GlobalEye systems to replace its E-3 AWACS fleet, which it plans to retire in 2035, and announced joint procurement of ten GlobalEye aircraft.

Rutte also introduced the NATO Front Door for Industry procurement portal and the NATO Engine framework for coordinating factory capacity.

Allies issued a call to increase private capital investment in defense, with institutions having already mobilized more than $200 billion. Allies agreed last year to raise the defense spending floor from 2 percent of GDP to 5 percent by 2035.