NATO countries will produce American ABRAMS tanks, ATACMS missiles, Stinger man-portable air-defense systems, and other weapons systems in Europe. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated this at the Defense Industry Forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

“I welcome the fact that leading American defense companies have agreed to sign a new military-industrial initiative with leading European players in the defense sector. This will allow NATO to produce key American weapons in Europe, such as ABRAMS tanks, AMRAAM and ATACMS missiles, and Stinger systems,” he said. “We will produce weapons on both sides of the Atlantic without excessive additional investment by creating a network of factories accessible to NATO’s defense industry and innovation infrastructure.”

Rutte emphasized that NATO must “refill its arsenals,” which were depleted by supplies to Ukraine, and “produce more weapons than the bloc’s opponents.”

The alliance’s secretary general claimed that this military-industrial initiative “will ensure a sharp increase in NATO’s military capabilities.” He did not specify the timeframe in which NATO intends to implement all these plans.