Government signs multi-billion defence deal at Nato summit

The government has signed a new package of defence agreements at the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, including plans to jointly buy up to €2.5 billion worth of new amphibious transport ships with the UK.

The Netherlands will also invest with 10 Nato partners in replacing the alliance’s ageing Awacs radar aircraft, used for early warning and air surveillance. Stinger anti-aircraft missiles will be produced together with Germany.

Defence minister Dilan Yeşilgöz said the country is acting intelligently by strengthening European defence capacities, including scaling up and maintaining American missile types.

Yeşilgöz also said joining forces with allies would prevent fragmentation, increase production capacity and allow companies to scale up faster.

The Netherlands will also join a multi-country coalition to secure critical raw materials for the defence industry, and allies will investigate developing a shared military satellite network.

The agreements were signed on the first day of the summit, being held at Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s palace. Nato members are trying to show that sharply higher defence budgets are being converted into equipment and production capacity.

Prime minister Rob Jetten said in May that Europe had been naïve to rely on the American security umbrella, pledging to write the Nato spending target of 3.5% of GDP into Dutch law.

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte also used the summit to announce a €35 billion investment in drone defences over the next five years, saying drones were increasingly flying over member states without authorisation. The summit runs until Wednesday.