NEW YORK, June 3. /TASS/. NATO is urging its European members to increase ground-based air defenses fivefold in response to the alleged threat from Russia, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
According to them, the issue will be discussed at the meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels on June 5. They noted that while the increase would serve as a general target for NATO’s European members, the final figures would vary from one country to another. The timeline for implementing these measures has not yet been determined.
A high-ranking European official told the agency that alliance countries are in dire need of building up ground-based air defenses, including the best available UAVs, missiles, and fighter jets. He noted that NATO has reduced the number of such systems over the past 30 years due to a shift in focus from Cold War spheres of influence to the Middle East and North Africa.
Ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, alliance members are discussing the option of raising defense spending to 5% of GDP – with 3.5% devoted to weapons and combat equipment, and 1.5% covering parallel spending, such as dual-use infrastructure.