NATO set to unveil billions in arms deals to prove its firepower to Trump

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — NATO on Tuesday will showcase a series of new military projects worth billions of dollars in an attempt to convince U.S. President Donald Trump that the allies are stepping up defense spending and converting investment into real firepower.

At an event dubbed the “big reveal,” several leaders are due to announce new deals with defense companies, plenty of them in the United States. Trump has branded NATO a “paper tiger” that would cease to function without American arms and leadership.

“We will announce tens of billions in new contracts that will provide the crucial kit we need to deter and defend,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters on the eve of the military alliance’s two-day summit in Turkey.

The defense industry splash comes a few weeks after Rutte tried to ease U.S. concerns about military spending at NATO with a new pitch using a chart labeled the “The Trump Trillion” — showing $1.2 trillion in spending by European allies and Canada since 2017.

Far from being impressed, Trump appeared unmoved, saying he was still disappointed at some NATO allies’ refusal to join the Iran war, which he had launched alongside Israel without consulting them.

“We don’t need their money — we don’t need anything,” Trump said. “I just want loyalty.”

Among the contracts to be unveiled, many of them drawn up and some signed long before the summit, is expected to be one to replace NATO’s aging fleet of surveillance planes.

NATO as an organization does not own any weaponry — these are the property of the 32 member countries — but it does have a fleet of AWACs aircraft that are about 50 years old and some newer surveillance drones.

Some of the other projects will notably be paid for with funds from a system of cheap loans for defense purposes set up by the European Union, comprising up to $170 billion raised on capital markets.

“We need to ensure that we are translating our economic might into military capabilities, putting the cash to work from defense plans to drones, from money to missiles and interceptors,” Rutte said.

The summit is being held in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s sprawling palace compound in Ankara and Trump has suggested he would come bearing gifts for the Turkish leader.

But speaking Monday on the morning show “Fox & Friends,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. not to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, saying that Erdogan “calls openly for the annihilation of Israel.” Turkey and Israel have acrimonious relations. Erdogan frequently accuses Israel of committing genocide in its war in Gaza, triggered by the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

Turkey was barred from the F-35 program in 2019, after it purchased Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems. However, Trump, who has warm relations with Erdogan, has hinted ahead of his planned visit to Ankara for the NATO summit that the sales could soon resume.

Netanyahu said selling Turkey F-35s would “upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority and also, I think, by America’s posture in the Middle East.”

Israel’s Air Force depends on hundreds of U.S. fighter jets, including F-35s, F-16s and F-15s.

The focus of the summit is a stronger Europe for a stronger NATO. The Trump administration has warned the allies that they must handle Europe’s security alone as the United States focuses on China and the Indo-Pacific region.

The Pentagon wants a reboot and is promoting what it calls “NATO 3.0,” a vision of the alliance in which Europe assumes greater responsibility for its own defense, freeing the U.S. to concentrate on other priorities.

But hiking defense spending means increasing taxes or diverting resources from other priorities. U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey unexpectedly quit last month, saying the government was not willing to spend at a time of rising threats.

Concern is mounting among some northern and central eastern countries that Russia might be preparing a hybrid attack — a combination of conventional warfare with tactics like cyberattacks — on the continent as Russian President Vladimir Putin struggles to secure victory in Ukraine.

Keir Starmer’s office said the British leader will be “focused on building a stronger and more European NATO” on what is likely to be his last foreign trip as prime minister.

Starmer, who announced his resignation June 22, has faced criticism from military leaders, opposition politicians and some in his center-left party for the slow rate of increase in U.K. military spending.

His government has committed to reach the NATO budget target of spending 3.5% of gross domestic product on defense by 2035 but does not have a concrete plan to get there. Its current spending plan will see that spending hit 2.7% of GDP by 2029.

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

NATO banners in front of the Bestepe National Mosque ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, left, meets with Turkish Presidential Defense Industries Directorate Haluk Gorgun as he arrives ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Osmancan Gürdoğan, Pool Photo via AP)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a media conference at the International Media Center ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Estonia's Prime Minister Kristen Michal, center left, walks with Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, left, during airport arrivals ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (Metin Aktas, Pool Photo via AP)

A Turkish flag and NATO banners cover buildings ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts are gathering in Turkey on Tuesday for a two-day summit that comes at a turning point in the organization’s history as the United States steps back from its traditional security role in Europe.

Ahead of the meeting in Ankara, Trump has insisted on “loyalty” after some NATO countries balked at allowing U.S. forces to use their bases for attacks on Iran. He listed big European members Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain for criticism.

A NATO summit is a highly symbolic moment when the 32 member countries of the world’s biggest military alliance underline their unshakeable commitment to one another’s security. This year, though, the trans-Atlantic bond has rarely seemed more fragile.

Still, the meeting is being organized around the theme of a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO. The Trump administration has called for a reboot to a “NATO 3.0,” and it’s hoped that what this really means will become clearer over the next two days.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is hosting the summit at his vast Bestepe Presidential Compound on the western edge of the Turkish capital, Ankara. A new airport, converted from an old military airfield, has been unveiled especially to host NATO leaders.

Security will be high. Air defenses are on alert, and tens of thousands of police will be on duty. Nearby neighborhoods are closed to traffic and some state workers have been given time off to help keep roads unclogged. Public gatherings are banned.

More than a dozen people were detained in security sweeps ahead of the summit, including two journalists, the Turkish Journalists Association said.

On Tuesday evening, Erdogan will host a dinner in his “Winter Garden.” Top officials from Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand will join their NATO partners. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend.

As they dine, foreign ministers will hold a NATO Ukraine Council, while the alliance's defense ministers will meet with their Indo-Pacific counterparts. A separate meeting with officials from Gulf Arab countries will also take place, and Trump will meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

NATO leaders alone will hold a single working session on Wednesday morning. They’ll publish a short statement summarizing the results of their meeting once it’s over.

Officially topping the agenda is defense spending — a perennial issue at NATO as the U.S. presses allies to do more. Ahead of the summit, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte noted a 20% annual spending hike by European allies and Canada in 2025.

This is unlikely to be enough to satisfy the Trump administration, even after the leaders agreed at their last summit to boost investment to the same level as the United States, in gross domestic product terms. The 2026 U.S. military budget is set at $901 billion, or about 3.3% of GDP.

NATO also wants to highlight the way it’s converting the billions pouring in from state coffers into new military kit that’s adapted to modern warfare. The summit will be a chance for the organization to showcase new military projects.

A defense industry forum will be held on the sidelines of the meeting, on Tuesday, bringing senior NATO and partner officials together with industry leaders, as allies push to ramp up weapons production and spur innovation in new technologies.

Another top agenda item is continued support to Ukraine, now in a fifth year of full-scale war with Russia. European allies and Canada are funding most of Ukraine’s needs, including paying for about 90% of the country’s air defenses.

The working session is only expected to last about three hours, but most debate is likely to focus on U.S. force levels in Europe and the off-agenda item of fallout from the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

European allies and Canada will want reassurances, or at least clarity, on U.S. force intentions. Since early last year, they have often been blindsided — and sometimes confounded — by Trump’s declarations on cutting troop numbers.

Ahead of the summit, the Pentagon surprised the allies by announcing a 6-month review of the U.S. presence. It’s focused on progress Europe is making to defend itself, but also on whether the U.S. has full base access and overflight.

NATO played no active role in the Iran war and has no overarching agreement with the United States on the shared use of bases and airspace, although some of its members do.

At a public meeting with Rutte on June 24, Trump renewed his criticism of the allies for their reluctance to get involved in the war. “We don’t need their money — we don’t need anything,” he said. “I just want loyalty.”

On joining NATO, member countries pledge loyalty equally to one another through a commitment to collective security — the all-for-one, one-for-all pledge enshrined in Article 5 of NATO’s treaty. That guarantee alone underpins everything the organization stands for and does.

What further loyalty Trump might require is unclear.

Police hold up their shields as protestors from the People's Liberation Party wave flags during a demonstration against the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)

A protestor holds a sign, center, which reads "killer USA", and another holds a sign, right, which reads "killer Nato out" during a demonstration ahead of the NATO Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Erdem Sahin)

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, center, French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attend a press conference at the E5 NATO Summit in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Police patrol in front of a banner ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel)