08.07.2026 10:31
On the second day of the ongoing NATO Summit in Ankara, the UK, leading France, Germany and other European countries, announced a long-range precision weapon development program exceeding $50 billion, in which the US will not participate. Under the project, to be implemented over the next 10 years, next-generation weapons with a range of at least 300 kilometers, and over 2,000 kilometers for some systems, will be developed.
On the second day of the NATO Leaders Summit hosted by Turkey in Ankara, leaders discussed defense spending, defense investments, the NATO 3.0 vision, and support for Ukraine, while a notable defense move came from Europe.
According to Reuters, the UK government announced that the UK, France, Germany, and other European countries will develop long-range precision weapons with a budget exceeding $50 billion over the next 10 years.
THE US WILL NOT PARTICIPATE
According to a statement from the UK government, the project will be carried out entirely by European countries, and the US will not participate in this initiative.
It was stated that the new generation weapon systems to be developed will have a range of at least 300 kilometers, while some systems will be capable of precisely striking targets over 2,000 kilometers. The project aims to significantly increase NATO's long-range deterrence capacity.
STARMER'S MESSAGE OF "UK LEADERSHIP"
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the initiative would be presented to allies at the NATO Summit in Ankara. Starmer said, "This UK-led initiative will bring together our European allies in stronger cooperation and contribute to ensuring NATO's security for years to come."
Prime Minister Starmer is expected to share the details of the initiative with allies during the leaders' session to be held in Ankara today.
ONE OF THE FIRST CONCRETE STEPS OF THE NATO 3.0 VISION
One of the most important agenda items of the Ankara Summit was the NATO 3.0 vision, which envisions Europe taking on greater responsibility in defense.
Following US President Donald Trump's messages about reducing Washington's burden on European security, European countries decided to accelerate joint defense investments. After tens of billions of dollars in new investments announced at the NATO Defense Forum on the first day of the summit, the long-range missile project is considered one of the most significant steps to strengthen NATO's defense capacity.
DEFENSE SPENDING ALSO ON THE AGENDA
Increasing defense spending is also one of the key topics on the table at the leaders' summit in Ankara. NATO members had previously agreed at the Hague Summit on a target to raise defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product.
While European countries have spent approximately $1.2 trillion on defense over the past 10 years, additional defense spending in 2025 alone reached about $139 billion. In Ankara, leaders are expected to make new decisions to accelerate the transformation of these investments into joint production, technology development, and military capacity.