NATO allies will invest more than $40 billion in the next five years in their capabilities to defend against drones, Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Tuesday at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
Rutte's comments come as threats from drones become common on battlefields, with heavy casualties reported in most active conflicts.
Rutte also said that NATO allies are committed to working together to acquire, store, transport, and manage stockpiles of critical defense materials.
At a defense industry forum in Ankara, Rutte said the initiative involves Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.
"We can do more when we do it together. And we must do more of it," Rutte said. "NATO allies are joining new multinational procurement coalitions. This really helps us get more of what you need across a range of capabilities."
NATO showcases big arms deals in Ankara
NATO leaders began unveiling arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars during the summit, driving home the message that they are heeding US calls to spend more on defense in Europe ahead of a summit with President Donald Trump.
The deals presented at the summit, which had been mostly kept under wraps to make a splash, included European countries buying surveillance drones from US company Northrop Grumman and NATO buying planes from Sweden's Saab.
Saab will be able to start deliveries of GlobalEye aircraft in 2030 if NATO contracts the company quickly, the CEO of the Swedish defense group, Micael Johansson, told reporters at a press conference on the sidelines of the summit.
Johansson added that the final price had not yet been agreed but that it would be between roughly $400 million and $450 million per aircraft.
Ukraine plans to sign new drone deals at NATO summit, Zelensky says
Ukraine plans to sign new drone deals and other agreements with partners at the NATO summit, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday as he arrived in Ankara for the event.
Zelensky said Ukraine expected a "strong and productive" summit and he would hold nearly 20 bilateral meetings with leaders.
"We will continue to work on bolstering Ukraine's air defense. New systems, missiles for them, and the issue of production licenses – all of this is our priority," he said on X.
Iran war prompted Trump to revive criticism of NATO
Tensions within NATO have deepened since the US attacked Iran in February. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for insufficient support in the conflict, threatening to quit the alliance or disregard its collective defense pact.
European officials insist they largely honored commitments to let the US use their airspace and bases in their countries, despite not having been consulted about a war that roiled their economies and was deeply unpopular in Europe.
The US has also announced troop withdrawals from Europe, cut the forces it assigns to NATO’s defense plans and launched a six-month review of its military presence on the continent.
European officials say they are braced for a repeat of some of Trump’s recent criticism and cannot be sure of a positive outcome. There is also Trump's volatile relationship with some leaders, most recently seen in a feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
NATO members are expected to reaffirm their support for Ukraine and pledge €70 billion ($80 billion) in assistance in 2026.
Underscoring the stakes, Russia hammered the Kyiv region with missiles and drones on Monday, killing at least 28 people and exposing Ukraine's critical shortage of US-made air-defense interceptors.