NATO’s problem is not only money. It is turning money into defense before the next crisis

by Brandon Burley

The Redemption Project Newsroom

International Desk

NATO’s harder problem is not getting allies to promise more money.

It is turning that money into usable defense before the next crisis.

As NATO leaders prepare to meet July 7-8 in Ankara, Turkey, the alliance is facing a more complicated test than a spending target. NATO must show that new defense commitments can become factories, weapons, ammunition, air defense, trained forces, logistics and credible deterrence fast enough to matter.

The summit is expected to focus on defense investment, defense industrial production, alliance unity and continued support for Ukraine. Reuters described the alliance’s challenge in broader terms: keeping the United States committed, shifting more defense responsibility to Europe, increasing defense spending, turning spending into production and capability, deterring Russia and sustaining support for Ukraine.

Those issues are connected.

NATO allies have already moved beyond the old 2% defense-spending benchmark. At the 2025 Hague Summit, allies agreed to invest 5% of gross domestic product annually on defense and defense-related spending by 2035.

That commitment has two parts. At least 3.5% of GDP is supposed to go toward core defense requirements and NATO capability targets. Up to 1.5% can go toward broader defense- and security-related investments, including critical infrastructure, cyber defense, civil preparedness, innovation and defense industrial capacity.

The new target is politically important. But the number does not solve NATO’s military problem by itself.

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