NATO chief Rutte calls for 400% increase in alliance's air, missile defence

NATO Secretary-General Rutte calls for a 400% increase in air and missile defence to counter Russian threats.

NATO members need to increase their air and missile defences by 400% to counter the threat from Russia, the head of the military alliance plans to say on Monday (June 9, 2025).

Secretary-General Mark Rutte will say during a visit to London that NATO must take a “quantum leap in our collective defence” to face growing instability and threats, according to extracts released by NATO before Mr. Rutte’s speech.

Mr. Rutte is due to meet U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing St. ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands where the 32-nation alliance is likely to commit to a big hike in military spending.

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Like other NATO members, the U.K. has been reassessing its defence spending since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Starmer has pledged to increase British defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027 and to 3% by 2034.

Mr. Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5% of economic output on military spending and another 1.5% on “defence-related expenditure” such as roads, bridges, airfields and seaports. He said last week he is confident the alliance will agree to the target at its summit in The Hague on June 24-25.

At the moment, 22 of the 32 member countries meet or exceed NATO’s current 2% target.