NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has called on defence companies across the Alliance to increase production and speed up innovation.
Speaking at the Transatlantic Defense Industry Access Forum at NATO Headquarters on 10 June, Rutte urged industry to deliver “more firepower faster”, saying: “When you, all of you, produce more, our deterrence and defence posture is stronger, and we are all safer.”
The event was organised by the United States and brought together more than 50 US companies and Belgian industry representatives, NATO reported.
Rutte referred to a plan agreed by NATO allies at last year’s summit in The Hague to invest 5% of GDP in defence.
Focus on Ankara summit deliverables
Next month’s NATO summit in Ankara should produce “concrete deliverables” beyond funding commitments, Rutte said, adding: “Cash is crucial. But next month’s Summit in Ankara will not only be about cash, it has to be about the combat ready capabilities and significantly scaling up our defence industries.”
He also said investment in defence industry supported security, economies and jobs.
Transatlantic co-operation on defence production mattered because “our defence — this is my absolute conviction — is strongest when we combine the ideas, when we combine the assets, the industries we have across the Alliance on both sides of the Atlantic,” Rutte stated.
