Nato chief urges 400-percent rise in alliance’s air defence

LONDON: Nato head Mark Rutte on Monday urged a “quantum leap” in defence capabilities including a “400-percent increase” in air and missile defence to shield the alliance against Russia.

His comments came as he pushes for Nato members to commit to ramping up defence spending at a key summit of the western military alliance later this month. “We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” the Nato secretary general said in a speech to the Chatham House think-tank in London.

To maintain credible deterrence and defence, Nato needs “a 400-percent increase in air and missile defence”, the former Dutch prime minister added. “The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defence,” he said.

Rutte is urging Nato members to commit to 3.5 percent of GDP on direct military spending by 2032, and an additional 1.5 percent on broader security-related expenditure. The proposal is a compromise deal designed to satisfy US President Donald Trump, who has demanded that allies each spend five percent of economic output on defence, up from a current commitment of two percent. Rutte said he “expects” leaders to agree to the proposal at the summit of the 32-country alliance on June 24-25 in The Hague. “It will be a Nato-wide commitment and a defining moment for the alliance,” he said in his speech.