Trump pushed NATO to pay up. Now allies must turn pledges into power

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Declarations are not deterrence. Commitments are not capabilities.

At The Hague last year, NATO Allies made a historic pledge: five percent of GDP annually on core defense and security-related capabilities. It was a declaration that the Free World will rise to the challenges of this century — and a testament to the historic leadership of President Trump. His unwavering determination has secured a surge in Allied defense investment not seen since the founding of NATO.

But as we approach the NATO Summit in Ankara, the Alliance faces its defining test: turning promises into realities on the ground.

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The Burden-Sharing Reckoning

Since 2017, European Allies and Canada have increased defense investment by more than $1.2 trillion. That is real money, and it reflects a real shift in political will. Since the Hague Summit alone, Allies have committed nearly $139 billion — roughly half of it spent on American equipment that the United States alone can produce at scale. Allies currently hold over $60 billion in orders with American defense companies, and that number keeps growing. We build the best equipment in the world, and our friends know it.

Yet the picture remains uneven. Some Allies are shouldering more of the burden than others, and the United States will continue to press every member of this Alliance to honor its commitments. In an era of complex new threats — drone swarms, hybrid attacks, hypersonic missiles — a weak link anywhere degrades collective security everywhere.

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The goal, however, is not simply to spend more. It is to shift the conventional defense of Europe to Europeans, with the United States providing critical but more focused support — including our nuclear umbrella. That means an Alliance that is stronger, more lethal, and less dependent on the United States. It means air and missile defense networks built to counter the drone and missile threats that have reshaped the modern battlefield in Ukraine. It means tougher training and more demanding exercises for our combined forces. And it means a NATO that can fight and win with Europeans in the lead.

The Defense Industrial Imperative

The most consequential development in the Alliance today is not happening around conference tables. It is happening on factory floors.

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We must build more military equipment, build it faster, and out-innovate our adversaries. That requires expanded industrial capacity on both sides of the Atlantic: more partnerships between American defense companies and European industry to develop, produce, and sustain together. It requires more flexible contracting, including the long-term contracts Congress has now authorized, to give American companies the certainty they need to invest in expanded production; and new pathways for our most innovative small businesses to bring best-in-class technology to the Alliance.

This is the virtuous cycle we need. Allied demand drives American production. American production drives Allied capability. Allied capability drives deterrence. And deterrence keeps the peace.

The Summit Ahead

Ankara must be a summit of action. The Hague gave us the mandate; Ankara must give us the momentum — concrete milestones, measurable capability targets, and mechanisms that ensure Allies deliver. President Reagan said peace through strength is not a slogan but a fact of life. We must, like President Trump, see the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. A dangerous world demands a strong America and strong Allies. The United States has been the backbone of NATO, and we will remain a proud, stalwart Ally. But a stronger Europe, armed with real capabilities, is the prerequisite for an Alliance that can defend every inch of NATO territory — as equal Allies, not dependents.

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Our adversaries must look at our capabilities and conclude that the cost of aggression is too high.

That is the NATO we are building. The direction is clear. The commitment is real. Now is the time to act.

Matthew Whitaker is the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO.