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A year on from their historic pledge to ramp up defence spending, leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) gathering in Ankara next week will reckon with another challenge: getting industry to produce enough weapons.
As money flows into defence budgets — up $90 billion in Europe and Canada last year alone — the 32-nation alliance is struggling to transform the funds into firepower.
“Cash is crucial, but you can’t stop a missile or a tank with a dollar or a euro,” Nato chief Mark Rutte said.
“We need to turn the cash into combat-ready capabilities, and fast. This is our shared priority.”
