NATO readies for a ‘big reveal’ on arms deals to prove its firepower to Trump

NATO readies for a ‘big reveal’ on arms deals to prove its firepower to Trump 0 seconds of 1 minute, 1 secondVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Coffin of late Supreme Leader Khamenei paraded through Tehran 01:07 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 01:01 01:01 More Videos 01:07 Coffin of late Supreme Leader Khamenei paraded through Tehran 01:05 Iran mourners honor late supreme leader in seminary city of Qom 00:43 Sons of late Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei among mourners at his funeral 00:57 Dayslong funeral for late Supreme Leader Khamenei begins in Iran 01:57 From a little house to a bigger stage, Motown Museum readies its $75M expansion 02:05 Trump mixes patriotism with partisanship as he celebrates America's 250th anniversary 01:05 Trump points to George Washington to justify enriching his family 01:24 Trump takes first flight on new Air Force One gifted by Qatar Close 1 of 6 | US President Donald Trump and NATO leaders are meeting in Ankara in Turkey on Tuesday for a two-day summit focused on the military alliance’s future. 2 of 6 | A Turkish flag and NATO banners cover buildings ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) 3 of 6 | 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) 4 of 6 | 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) 5 of 6 | 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) 6 of 6 | 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) By LORNE COOK, SUZAN FRASER and ABBY SEWELL Updated 7:04 AM MESZ, July 7, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit 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.” RELATED COVERAGE What to know about NATO’s summit in Turkey as America steps back from its defense of Europe NATO chief demands allies present credible plans to reach defense spending targets 26 Trump won big spending promises from NATO last year. This week in Turkey, he’ll try to enforce them 159 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. ABBY SEWELL Sewell is the Associated Press news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. She joined the AP in 2022 but has been based in the region since 2016, reporting and guiding coverage on some of its most significant news stories. twitter mailto