Nato announces major defence deals as Trump pushes Türkiye F-35 and sanctions reversal at Ankara summit
Nato leaders gather in Ankara ahead of key discussions on defence spending and security challenges. Image credit: X/@WhiteHouse
New Delhi: Nato leaders entered the second day of their summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on Wednesday. The alliance had announced new defence projects worth tens of billions of dollars just ahead of US President Donald Trump’s arrival at the summit.
The defence agreements include plans for Nato to negotiate the purchase of up to 10 Saab GlobalEye airborne surveillance aircraft. Separately, Norway, Finland, Germany and Denmark signed a letter of intent to jointly procure up to five MQ-4C Triton surveillance drones. US defence company Lockheed Martin and Germany’s Rheinmetall also agreed to begin producing Atacms short-range ballistic missiles in Germany. This will be the first time the missiles will be made outside the US.
Nato also announced plans to set up a European maintenance facility for Patriot PAC-3 air defence missiles, with the possibility of future missile production in Europe. The alliance will also expand its strategic airlift capability by adding Airbus A400M transport aircraft and another A330 MRTT aerial refuelling aircraft.
The announcements come amid Trump’s long-standing criticism that Nato members have relied too heavily on the US while under-investing in their own defence. Speaking at the summit, the secretary general Mark Rutte urged allies to strengthen defence production and military readiness in response to threats from Russia. Trump, who has repeated this criticism for years, again called the alliance a “paper tiger” and urged European countries to spend more on their own defence.
Trump also met the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and announced that the US would lift sanctions imposed on Türkiye under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), following Türkiye’s purchase of the Russian-made S-400 air-defence system. The sanctions had led to Türkiye’s removal from the US-led F-35 fighter jet programme in 2019.
Trump said Washington would also consider allowing Türkiye to rejoin the F-35 programme. Erdogan welcomed the announcement and said receiving the fighter aircraft remained a key priority for Ankara.
Support for Ukraine also remained a key focus of the summit. Norway announced an additional 3 billion Norwegian kroner, for Ukraine’s air defence, while Norway, Denmark, Germany and Canada confirmed plans to jointly procure additional Patriot missile interceptors from the United States.
The South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung proposed expanding defence cooperation with Nato through joint research, weapons production and advanced defence technologies, highlighting the alliance’s growing outreach to partners beyond its members.
In a separate development on the side-lines of the summit, the US, Japan and South Korea signed a memorandum to cooperate on advanced nuclear energy projects in the Indo-Pacific region.
The two-day summit continues on Wednesday, with leaders expected to hold further discussions on defence spending, Nato’s long-term military preparedness and the alliance’s response to evolving global security challenges.
