NATO must make quantum leap of 400% in air, missile defence: Rutte – National [Video]

NATO members need to increase their air and missile defences by 400 per cent to counter the threat from Russia, the head of the military alliance plans to say on Monday.

Secretary-General Mark Rutte will say during a visit to London that NATO must take a “quantum leap in our collective defence” to face growing instability and threats, according to extracts released by NATO before Rutte’s speech.

Rutte is due to meet U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing St. ahead of a NATO summit in the Netherlands where the 32-nation alliance is likely to commit to a big hike in military spending.

Like other NATO members, the U.K. has been reassessing its defence spending since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Starmer has pledged to increase British defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2027 and to three per cent by 2034.

Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5 …