NATO to unveil billions in new military contracts to prove firepower to Donald Trump

NATO will unveil a range of new military deals worth billions of dollars on Tuesday, aiming to demonstrate to President Donald Trump that member nations are increasing defense expenditures and transforming investments into tangible military capabilities.

During what’s being called the “big reveal,” multiple leaders are expected to announce fresh agreements with defense contractors, many of them American firms. Trump has characterized NATO as a “paper tiger” that would be unable to operate without U.S. weaponry and direction.

“We will announce tens of billions in new contracts that will provide the crucial kit we need to deter and defend,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters ahead of the military alliance’s two-day gathering in Turkey.

This defense industry announcement follows Rutte’s recent effort to address U.S. apprehensions about military expenditure at NATO through a new presentation featuring a chart titled “The Trump Trillion” – illustrating $1.2 trillion in spending by European partners and Canada since 2017.

Rather than being satisfied, Trump seemed unimpressed, expressing continued frustration with certain NATO members’ unwillingness to participate in the Iran conflict, which he had initiated with Israel without their consultation.

“We don’t need their money — we don’t need anything. I just want loyalty,” Trump said.

Among the agreements set to be revealed, many drafted and some finalized well before the summit, is one anticipated to address the replacement of NATO’s outdated fleet of surveillance aircraft. NATO itself doesn’t possess any weapons – those belong to its 32 member nations – though it does maintain a fleet of aging AWACs aircraft, approximately 50 years old, along with some more recent surveillance drones.

Several additional initiatives will be financed through a European Union defense loan program, which can raise up to $170 billion from capital markets at favorable rates.

“We need to ensure that we are translating our economic might into military capabilities, putting the cash to work from defense plans to drones, from money to missiles and interceptors,” Rutte said.

The gathering is taking place at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s expansive palace complex in Ankara, with Trump indicating he may arrive with potential concessions for the Turkish president.

However, during an appearance on Monday on “Fox & Friends,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the U.S. to reject selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, noting that Erdogan “calls openly for the annihilation of Israel.”

Relations between Turkey and Israel remain deeply strained. Erdogan regularly accuses Israel of perpetrating genocide during its military operations in Gaza, which began following the devastating Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on southern Israel.

Turkey was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 following its acquisition of Russian-manufactured S-400 missile defense systems. Nevertheless, Trump, who maintains a cordial relationship with Erdogan, has suggested prior to his scheduled visit to Ankara for the NATO summit that jet sales might be reinstated.

Netanyahu argued that providing Turkey with F-35s would “upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority and also, I think, by America’s posture in the Middle East.”