ANKARA, TURKEY – JULY 08: Leaders gather for a “family photo” at Beştepe Presidential Compound during a welcome ceremony for the NATO Summit on July 08, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO’s 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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On July 7-8, elected officials, defense ministers, and policymakers gathered in Ankara for the 2026 NATO Summit. During the two-day event in Turkey, representatives from NATO’s 32 member states discussed the importance of defense investments and the progress countries have made toward reaching the 5% target they committed to at the 2025 NATO Summit, how NATO can increase defense production and improve the defense industry, and support for Ukraine during Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion.
At the start of the forum, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte delivered a keynote speech. During his presentation, Rutte announced that “member states [had] spent $37 billion in one year” on defense, suggesting that NATO members had taken the pledge to increase defense spending seriously. The Secretary General celebrated the work of the Alliance but stressed that it should continue to focus on defense spending and that the defense industry needed a “revolution.” Rutte also noted that the Europeans had made “staggering” increases in defense spending and that this was “money well spent.” Additionally, the Ankara Summit Declaration announced “more than $50 billion in new procurements” and “expanding collective manufacturing capacity and working with industry to accelerate innovation.”
NATO also announced that “over 40 billion dollars will be invested in counter-drone capabilities over the next five years.” While undertaking this initiative, NATO members would work to ensure that these drones are properly tested and compatible so they can be procured. Having witnessed Ukraine’s successful implementation and usage of drones over the past four years in the fight against Russia, the Alliance noted that drones have “fundamentally altered the character of modern warfare” and that they are becoming a “decisive factor on the battlefield.”
Beyond these developments, NATO members discussed their defense spending commitments made following the 2025 NATO Summit. Last year, NATO members agreed to increase their respective defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035. This expanded target was split into two categories. The first portion, 3.5% of the 5% total, focuses on hard power, such as defense equipment, weapons, and ammunition. The remaining 1.5% of the 5% total would be spent on defense matters, such as cyber defense. During the gathering in Ankara, Reuters reported that five of NATO’s 32 members were projected to meet the Alliance’s 3.5% GDP spending on core defense matters in 2026. The top spenders in defense by GDP this year, as noted by Reuters, are Lithuania (5.33%), Estonia (5.1%), Latvia (4.92%), Poland (4.68%), and Greece (3.65%).
While this progress was celebrated, other Alliance members are lagging behind the GDP defense target, let alone the initial 2% defense target proposed at the 2014 NATO Summit. Reuters reported that countries behind the 2% defense target in 2025 were Albania (1.48%), Slovenia (1.57%), and Czechia (1.86%), although Albania and Slovenia are expected to exceed the 2% target by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, Belgium (2%), Portugal (2.1%), and Italy (2.1%) have just barely reached the 2% target. These figures suggest a gap in the Alliance between countries that have prioritized defense spending and those that have not fully budgeted their means to meet NATO defense targets. As a result, Rutte stressed that all members should put forward “clear, concrete, and credible plans” for meeting Alliance defense spending targets, adding that NATO would work with members that lacked clear plans to help them reach the 5% defense spending target. Nonetheless, a report published by The New York Times on July 7 stated that NATO members were actively trying to meet these defense targets.
Finally, NATO members met with Ukrainian officials via the NATO-Ukraine Council platform for a working dinner. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also met with Rutte, during which they discussed the latest developments in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s air defense systems. The Ukrainian president stressed the need for additional air defense capabilities that would allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to protect Ukrainians against Russian missile and drone attacks. Zelenskyy added that NATO should allow Ukraine to join the Alliance, arguing that the defense capabilities Ukraine had developed during the ongoing Russian invasion would be valuable to the Alliance’s collective defense.
While NATO did not formally extend an invitation to Ukraine during the 2026 NATO Summit, the organization reaffirmed its support for Ukraine. Some NATO members also provided new aid. For example, U.S. President Donald Trump told Zelenskyy that the United States would give Ukraine a production license to build its own Patriot missile interceptors for defense, though he noted that companies behind the system had not yet been informed of the decision. Meanwhile, Norway stated that it would provide $306.2 million for Ukraine’s air defense, Canada unveiled a new $900 million aid package, and Lithuania announced that it would “dedicate at least 0.25% of [its] GDP to Ukraine” aid. Denmark also introduced a new $672 million military aid package for Ukraine on June 30 ahead of the 2026 NATO Summit. Finally, the Ankara Summit Declaration at the end of the 2026 NATO Summit announced that NATO allies had “pledged €70 billion in military equipment, assistance, and training for Ukraine” for 2026, and they had reaffirmed their commitments to “at least equivalent levels in 2027.”
The 2026 NATO Summit also came at a tense time in the Alliance. Earlier this year, Trump threatened to leave NATO following disagreements over the reluctance of NATO’s European members to support U.S. military operations in Iran. Trump also suggested that he might withdraw U.S. troops from Europe. Despite these tensions, the U.S. president still traveled to Ankara for the two-day NATO Summit, where he met with various heads of state and defense leaders from NATO’s member states. This suggests that, despite differences the U.S. president may have with his European allies, the Alliance remains intact and that the United States and other NATO members remain committed to collective security and defense. Trump even noted during the closing stages of the 2026 NATO Summit that there was “tremendous unity” while Rutte called the two-day gathering in Ankara a “tremendous success.”
Elected officials, policymakers, and industry leaders from NATO’s 32 member states will now return home to work on the action items and objectives addressed during the 2026 NATO Summit. They will continue to collaborate on strategies to enhance defense readiness, drive innovation in the defense industry, and ensure collective security throughout the Alliance. Defense experts will be anxious to see how NATO’s progress on these issues will unfold in the months ahead, and how these topics will be addressed at future NATO events.