Nato is so much stronger than Russia that member states do not need to shoot down Russian planes entering their airspace, its secretary-general, Mark Rutte, has said.
Nato defence ministers are meeting in Brussels on Wednesday for talks on Russia’s increased testing of the alliance with drones and military attack aircraft, and will discuss new Nato defences to detect and destroy Russian unmanned aerial vehicles.
Rutte, who is chairing the meeting, which includes Peter Hegseth in his first visit to the alliance under his new title of “secretary of war”, played down the need for Nato to shoot down Russian fighter jets, such as the MiG-31s, which breached Estonia’s airspace on September 19.
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“We are so much stronger than the Russians that we don’t need to shoot down their planes when they enter our airspace,” he said.
John Healey, the defence secretary, said talks would “ramp up our response to Russia’s aggression”.
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Arriving at the Nato headquarters on Wednesday morning, Healey said: “Putin’s incursions into Nato territory are reckless, dangerous, and totally unacceptable.
“Deliberate or not, Putin is watching what we do. And Putin should be in no doubt: if Nato is threatened, we will act. We must meet his escalation with our strength.”
John Healey spoke to Lithuania’s defence minister, Dovile Sakaliene, before the meeting
NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
At the request of Alexus Grynkewich, the American air force general who is Nato’s supreme allied commander (SACEUR), the ministers will discuss rules of engagement, including when to shoot down aircraft, because of different, conflicting national rules across the alliance.
“It’s no secret that the more national caveats, especially on our fighter jet assets, the harder it is for SACEUR to respond immediately,” said Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to Nato. “And so those are conversations that we’re going to continue to have within the alliance and make sure that where they can be reduced, they can be reduced.”
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He said Grynkewich had “every reason to want to make sure that if he’s in charge and he’s the supreme allied commander … he is in command”.
Nato officials said the recent Russian incursions exposed the allies’ different rules, warning that Moscow would have learnt from them and could exploit them in a conflict scenario. Proposals for a more aggressive deterrence posture are expected early next year.
Nato is speeding up plans for an “eastern flank deterrence line to rapidly experiment and field new technologies” to counter drones after repeated Russian incursions in alliance countries with measures, a senior official said, including “counter-drone sensors and weapons to detect, track and kill drones”.
Hegseth will use the talks to pressure European allies to meet increased defence spending targets of 5 per cent agreed at a Hague summit in June and he will repeat President Trump’s threat of “punishment” for Spain if it does not follow the agreed military budget increases.
Officials said they expected it to be an “unpleasant experience for Spain [but] that’s the price they have to pay for standing apart”. Hegseth will also urge allies, including Britain, to put cash into the US-led Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative, which funds the purchase of US military equipment for Ukraine.