Senators Seek To Continue NATO Summit Momentum At Farnborough

LONDON—U.S. Congressional representatives are heading to the Farnborough Airshow on the heels of a Washington NATO summit that sought to increase momentum for international co-production of key weapons. 

Their job now is to push it through.

“Given the conversation at the NATO summit, about our defense industrial base, about the need to coordinate—that’s already started through NATO countries,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) tells Aviation Week. “This is a further opportunity to encourage investment in that defense base.”

The NATO summit included a pledge signed by member nations to coordinate production across industrial bases, as the Russia-Ukraine war has shown an acute need for increased stocks, particularly for air defenses. U.S. manufacturers have been forced to reprioritize orders by moving Kyiv to the front of the line to receive interceptors, making other foreign military sales customers wait. This comes as European nations are increasing demand on the continent, through such efforts as the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative and the French-led Capability Coalition Integrated Air and Missile Defense.

NATO’s new defense industrial pledge includes long-term goals such as developing individual national plans to strengthen capacity, speeding up procurement that involves multiple nations, securing supply chains and creating international standards. Alongside the pledge, allies agreed to future large purchases meant to show sustained demand, such as the NATO Support and Procurement Agency ordering $700 million Stinger anti-aircraft missiles from Raytheon.

Shaheen says the continued increase in defense spending by NATO partners is important to meeting the demand. Twenty-three NATO members are now reaching the goal of spending 2% or more of their GDP on defense.

“There’s recognition that it is a floor, not a ceiling, and so we’ve got countries like Poland and Estonia that are contributing more than the 2%, and I think that’s a good model as countries look at the threats—and they’re not just European threats from Russia,” Shaheen says.