ANKARA, Turkey \u2014 NATO kicked off its annual Summit here by announcing a series of new air power deals and initiatives with a heavy focus on boosting surveillance and strategic airlift capabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At a defense industry forum on the sidelines of the event today, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte rolled out the first wave of lucrative acquisitions, headlined by three major decisions: the procurement of up to 10 Swedish-made GlobalEye surveillance aircraft<\/a>, initiation of a new multinational High Visibility Project for a fleet of Airbus A400M transport planes and the integration of five US-produced MQ-4C drones into the alliance\u2019s ISR force.<\/p>\n Though exact contract values were not disclosed, Rutte said these projects are worth \u201cbillions of dollars\u201d and will be \u201cmoney well-spent.\u201d This major aviation push is in step with a wider plan by allied nations to reportedly unveil tens of billions<\/a> in new arms contracts during the two-day Summit.\u00a0Today\u2019s pledges come after US President Donald Trump, who arrived in Ankara to much fanfare<\/a>, repeatedly called on NATO to invest more in its own defense.<\/p>\n The GlobalEye choice carried its own geopolitical implications, as the selection of a European solution comes after allies axed a plan to initially replace aging E-3 surveillance platforms with Boeing-made E-7 Wedgetails.\u00a0<\/p>\n On a programmatic level, GlobalEye negotiations between the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) and the manufacturer Saab are to proceed immediately, prior to contract signing. GlobalEye-maker Saab said in a statement following Rutte\u2019s remarks that \u201cGlobalEye will enable the Alliance to monitor vast areas of land, sea and air, significantly enhancing NATO\u2019s ability to detect and respond to a wide range of threats.\u201d<\/p>\n In a further boost for European industry, Belgium, Croatia, France, Poland, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom all committed to the A400M High Visibility Project, which is aimed at plugging gaps in European allies\u2019 strategic airlift capability<\/a>, according to Airbus.<\/p>\n A NATO press release<\/a> stated that the effort will employ the Airbus A330 Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) fleet \u201cpooling and sharing\u201d concept, allowing participating countries to pool the aircraft and share costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, at least one deal on the the first day of the summit signaled that the alliance is not stepping back from big-ticket US orders. Rutte announced that some NATO allies are jointly acquiring \u201cup to\u201d five Northrop Grumman-produced MQ-4C Tritons, planned for integration into the alliance\u2019s ISR force. The alliance currently owns and operates a fleet of five RQ-4D drones also manufactured by the American company.<\/p>\n Rutte didn\u2019t name the countries invovled, but an alliance statement<\/a> identified them as Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway. Rutte added that \u201ctransatlantic industry\u201d will contribute to the effort by providing mission support, data systems and infrastructure.<\/p>\n Triton is \u201cpoised to provide NATO new levels of capability and operational flexibility to monitor and protect maritime interests from the Mediterranean to the High North,\u201d said Jane Bishop, VP Global Surveillance at Northrop Grumman, in a statement to media.<\/p>\n