Faster deliveries from industry and drones: NATO’s priorities for defence
Cavo Dragone, Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s Military Committee: ‘The funds will be available, and we must now step up the industry’s delivery capacity’
Key points
Faster deliveries from industry – even in the event of a protracted conflict – and drones. According to the chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, these are the priorities in the defence sector.
During a press conference in Copenhagen held at the end of last week to coincide with the meeting of the Alliance’s Military Committee, the former Chief of the Defence Staff gave an initial update, including on crisis scenarios. On that occasion, the allied nations elected the German General Carsten Breuer, Germany’s Chief of Defence, as the next Chair of the NATO Military Committee. The handover to Cavo Dragone, who has been in office since January 2025, is scheduled for July 2027, with a three-year term of office.
War in Ukraine highlights the need for greater action
The situation in Ukraine has shown just how crucial speed is. According to Cavo Dragone, precisely because of the situation on the ground, the defence industry must further increase its production capacity and speed up deliveries to ensure that NATO has the necessary quantities of weapons and ammunition, even in the event of a protracted conflict. ‘The speed we need, the rapidity of deliveries and the scale required are very high,’ the admiral emphasised. The war in Ukraine, he added, has highlighted the scale of the problem particularly clearly. “Just look at how many artillery shells, missiles or drones are being used every single day,” he said.
According to the chairman of the Military Committee, NATO is therefore urging the defence industry to move beyond the ‘peacetime mindset’ that prevailed until four or five years ago, by stepping up production so that it is also prepared to ‘support a potential protracted conflict’.
Cavo Dragone: ‘The quantity of weapons and ammunition used every single day is truly very high’
Cavo Dragone acknowledged that there has already been “a rather significant and profound change” in the defence industry’s approach to the issue, but warned that there is still work to be done. “I can understand that there is a transition phase in which we must give them the time they need to adapt to our requirements,” he said.
