NATO Deputy Sec. Gen. Talks Stronger Alliance at Symposium

Thank you, General Brown.

And good afternoon, everyone.

It's great to be here in Wiesbaden, home to the US Army's Europe and Africa Headquarters.

And a critical hub for America's efforts to ensure stability across the region, but also beyond.

Wiesbaden also houses our NATO command, the Security Assistance and Training command for Ukraine.

With hundreds of personnel from NATO and partner countries who work hard, every day.

To support Ukraine and to coordinate thousands of movements of military supplies, so that Ukraine can fight for it's freedom, for peace, and for security.

So what a better place to discuss the role of our armed forces and industry in deterring aggression.

Let me start by thanking the organisers, the Association of the United States' Army, for bringing us together to discuss this and many other important topics.

Less than a month ago, leaders of all Allied nations gathered for the NATO Summit in The Hague.

And they all had one clear objective.

How to keep one billion people living in NATO countries safe today.

And how to deter any possibility of aggression in the future.

How to make sure that our Alliance can fulfil and I would say continue, in the next 75 and more years, to fulfil our sacred mission.

What we saw in The Hague at the NATO Summit was bold decisions from our political leaders.

A strong demonstration of our transatlantic unity and resolve.

Allies have managed to agree on a very ambitious Defence Investment Plan, a new one, The Hague one,

to invest 5 percent of GDP for our security by 2035.

And this really is a game-changer.

And I shouldn't be saying this in this room, because you can understand how much of an impact will this have for our deterrence and our defence.

It will massively increase NATO's strength and war-fighting capabilities.

And it will definitely ensure that we continue what we do best, and this is deliver peace, but through strength.

At least 3.5% of GDP out of the 5% target will be spent on so called core miliary requirements.

They will be spend on what one can say is the heavy metal of our armed forces - many of you here today.

And this is the heavy metal that you all need to deter and defend.

Among all these capability requirements that all Allies have agreed to even a month before the Hague Summit,

What we have included in this number is a five-fold increase of our air and missile defence systems,

thousands more armoured vehicles and tanks,

and millions more artillery shells,

and drones, and air jets.

All these things contribute to the capability targets that we need, and the capability targets that require 3.5% of GDP so that they can be financed in due time.

At the same time, Allies agreed to spend 1.5% of GDP on defence and security related expenses.

This means more money to support our militaries and societies to become more secure.

In a world where microchips matter as much as the latest missiles every part of our society and our economy must step up for security.

From strong cyber defences to secure supply chains.

From greater resilience to more investment in roads, railways and ports for the sake of our defence plans.

This is all about making sure that we can get our forces to the right place at the right time, but equipped with the right capabilities.

It's also about responding to the world as it is now, not as we wish it to be.

Preparing for war costs money, 5% is a lot of money.

But not preparing for it will cost us far more, both in terms of money and in terms of lives. We are no longer fighting wars of choice, where everything is plannable and we set the timetable.

It is our adversaries that are setting the pace of production and defining the moment.

Russia is rearming faster than many people have imagined.

It is enabled by Chinese technology, Iranian drones, and North Korean missiles but also boots on the ground.

What's more, Putin has shown that he will not hesitate to use military force to achieve his goals.

China is also carrying out its own massive military modernisation.

It is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal, completely unconstrained by any arms control agreements.

It is flexing its muscles in the South China Sea and sharpening its tools of economic coercion in the Euro-Atlantic.

And while all this is happening, we also cannot underestimate the persistent instability in the Middle East,

divisive rhetoric in the Western Balkans,

and the ongoing threats of terrorism.

So as the world becomes more dangerous, more turbulent,

NATO must become stronger, fairer and, and this is the right place to use the word, more lethal.

To leave no adversary in any doubt that we will do what it takes to protect and defend each other.

A couple of weeks ago, we bid a fond farewell to General Cavoli, who as you know wore two hats.

He was both NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, our SACEUR, but also Commander of the US's European forces.

And let me use this opportunity to say that he has played really a fundamental role in transforming the Alliance, even prior to the NATO Summit.

He has really supported us in fostering a stronger bond between NATO's Supreme Allied Headquarters in Mons, SHAPE, and the United States' European Command in Stuttgart.

General Cavoli made sure that we have robust regional plans to defend every inch of Allied territory.

And that we continue to modernise NATO's multi-domain warfighting capabilities.

From the seabed to outer space, we cannot afford to have any weak links.

The conflicts in Ukraine, but also the instability and the conflicts in the Middle East have transformed modern warfare.

In Ukraine, we have seen tactics and trench-warfare from the last world wars, combined with the completely new technology from the next.

Ukraine has pioneered the use of drones, I was able to see remarkable examples for this, but not only in the air domain.

But also to neutralise the threat of the Russian army in the Black Sea.

And to strike Russian military targets far beyond the frontlines.

Both Russia and Ukraine have carried out kinetic and non-kinetic attacks - across land, sea, air, cyber and information space - and all of this simultaneously.

This was done to certain extent in devastating ways.

And we need to therefore think differently about how we operate.

Not in silos - but really seamlessly across all domains - and at the same time.

So when we develop our capabilities, this is the thinking, this is the logic.

This is the philosophy that we have to take into account.

We also need to think about how we integrate the latest technologies with conventional capabilities to gain the maximum effect.

And this was very much what SACEUR and SACT worked on in the last years.

But this is why we were also delighted to welcome General Alexus Grynkewich as our new Supreme Allied Commander.

He has championed innovation and developed cutting-edge capabilities for our armed forces.

His appointment demonstrates the United States' ironclad commitment to our shared security.

As America continues to put forward its brightest and best in service of the United States of America, but also in the service of the Alliance.

At the Summit, we heard really strong statements from the US leadership, from President Trump, but also from the two Secretaries and all the representatives.

How dedicated and how committed they are to NATO and to our collective defence.

The US continues to stand foursquare with its NATO Allies.

Because it is good for America's security and it is vital for the transatlantic security.

The US has played and continues to play an indispensable role in our Alliance.

Providing critical enablers, reinforcements, and of course its nuclear deterrence - the ultimate guarantor of our security.

At the same time, America's Allies, European and Canada, are stepping up.

All Allies, all 32 of them, will spend 2 percent of GDP on defence this year, as we have agreed time ago in Wales.

And many are already going much further and much faster.

Some of them have stepped up and approached 5% even before the Summit. And this is remarkable leadership.

They are making sure that we have collectively what we need to deter and defend.

That's why the other major focus of the Summit in The Hague was defence production.

Because cash alone does not deter our adversaries. It does not by itself provide security.

But concrete capabilities do.

Our adversaries won't be deterred just because of our statements, because of our pledges, because of our words.

But by strong defences, well-equipped troops, and the latest weapons systems.

This is why the Secretary General has been tireless in his efforts to engage not only with Allied leaders or with the militaries, but also with defence industries on both sides of the Atlantic.

He has been urging them to open new production lines, put in the extra shifts, really ramp up production.

But also to boost innovation and come up with capabilities that are actually meaningful today and tomorrow.

And they are.

They are really prepared for this game-changing environment around us.

Across the Alliance, industry has opened hundreds of new production lines and expanded existing ones.

We are now on course to produce more ships, more planes and ammunition than we have done in decades.

But we still need to do more.

NATO Allies today are home to world-class defence companies - some of them present today here with us - the best researchers, and the most innovative entrepreneurs.

But we need to do these things more, better and faster to drive even more production both on the American but also on the European side of the Atlantic.

And, again, we need to think differently about how and who we partner with.

This means working with everyone from the defence primes to civilian start-ups to integrate the latest technologies into our defence.

But it also means working together not among us in the Alliance, but also with our partners, from Ukraine, European Union, to the Indo-Pacific. All of them joined us for the Hague Summit and we agreed to do more, together, including or especially focusing on defence production.

There is so much we can learn from Ukraine, and we already are learning.

We have opened a new joint centre in Poland, the so-called JATEC [the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre] to do that exactly. To help Ukraine, but also, in the same way use the experience so that we can create stronger deterrence and defence.

We are also determined to work even more closely with our partners - Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea - including on defence production.

They are the source of so many of today's cutting-edge capabilities.

Ladies and gentlemen,

NATO is the strongest and most successful defensive Alliance in history of mankind.

We have done that. We have secured. We have protected one billion citizens.

Because we combine the finest armed forces, with the most innovative economies.

And because of our solemn promise to protect and defend each other.

So this sense of unity, solidarity, joint work is very strong and continues to be very important for us.

So let me end by thanking all of you here for the vital role you have played in our security.

I know I can count and we can count on you to keep our Alliance strong and our one billion people safe.

Thank you very much for your attention and I look forward to our discussions.