NATO to quintuple European air defences amid Russian threat
As reported by Bloomberg, NATO intends to increase its air defence capabilities in Europe fivefold in response to the threat from Russia. Details of the plan will be discussed during the defence ministers' meeting in Brussels.
What do you need to know?
- NATO plans a significant increase in air defence in Europe, in response to the growing threat from Russia.
- The NATO defence ministers' meeting will be held in Brussels. There, the details of the plan and the approval of the programme to increase weapon stockpiles will be discussed.
- NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, emphasised the alliance's readiness for a full-scale conflict, noting that the current situation is neither war nor peace.
What are NATO's plans for increasing air defence?
NATO aims to increase ground-based air defence capabilities fivefold among European member states. This plan is a response to the threat from Russia. According to Bloomberg, the topic will be discussed during the NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
Details of the plan, including the timeline, remain unclear for now, but the increase in defence capabilities would cover the entire continent, with varied participation from different countries.
The ministers are also set to approve one of the largest programmes to increase weapon stockpiles since the Cold War, as part of broader efforts to make Europe and Canada more independent from American defence systems.
Why is NATO focusing on air defence?
The expansion of air defence is one of NATO's priorities, particularly in the context of increasingly advanced threats such as drones, missiles, or fighter jets.
Over the past decades, alliance countries have limited the development of these systems, focusing on threats outside Europe, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 changed this strategy.
