Media: NATO seeks to boost air defence forces in Europe to prepare for Russian aggression

The North Atlantic Alliance is urging European member states to significantly increase their number of ground-based air defence systems in order to prepare for potential Russian aggression.

Bloomberg sources state that the Alliance has set an overall target for European members to increase their ground-based air defence capabilities fivefold. Individual targets will be set for each country, though no deadlines have been established yet.

The issue of ground-based air defence systems is expected to be discussed at the meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Bloomberg’s sources added.

A senior European military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Bloomberg that NATO members are in urgent need of expanding their ground-based air defence systems.

Over the past three decades, the Alliance reduced the number of such systems in its acquisition as its focus shifted from Cold War threats to those in the Middle East and North Africa, the official said.

This expansion of armaments is part of NATO’s broader ambition to raise defence spending.

Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, the Alliance is expected to approve a target of 5% of GDP for defence-related spending, with 3.5% allocated directly to defence, and an additional 1.5% to areas such as infrastructure, cybersecurity and civil defence.