NATO European allies to jointly buy planes, set up new elite HQ

by Dramelin 7:00 AM 0 comments

European NATO allies agreed on Thursday to jointly buy planes and submarines and possibly open a new command headquarters for elite troops as Europe seeks to show the United States it is serious about its own security. New U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis warned NATO allies on Wednesday they must pay more towards their own defences or potentially see less support from Washington. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said allies faced a "more demanding and challenging security environment" that the alliance needed to respond to. In signing ceremonies at NATO, defence ministers from France and Germany said they will buy Lockheed Martin C-130J transport planes, while Germany, Belgium and Norway will join a Netherlands-led fleet of Airbus A330 tanker planes. Germany also agreed to join a European multinational fleet of Airbus tankers that is led by the Netherlands and already includes Luxembourg.