NATO needs 400pc increase in air and missile defence

LONDON: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will use a speech in London on Monday to say the military alliance needs a 400 per cent increase in air and missile defence, one of the priorities for a summit of members in the Hague later this month.

Rutte will argue in a speech at London’s Chatham House think tank that for NATO to maintain credible deterrence and defence, it needs “a 400 per cent increase in air and missile defence”.

“We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies. Our militaries also need thousands more armoured vehicles and tanks, millions more artillery shells, and we must double our enabling capabilities, such as logistics, supply, transportation, and medical support,” he will say, according to extracts of his speech provided by his office.

Also read: Columbian senator shooting: Uribe’s wife says surgery went well