Ankara, Jul 07 (V7N) — NATO member states are expected to announce billions of dollars' worth of defence contracts ahead of a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, highlighting Europe's commitment to significantly increasing defence spending amid growing security challenges.

According to Reuters, the announcements will be made at the NATO Defence Industry Forum in Ankara on Tuesday.

Following the forum, President Trump is scheduled to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before attending the NATO summit, which begins later in the day.

Speaking ahead of the summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said European allies have increased defence spending at an unprecedented pace.

He noted that the surge has been driven by two major factors: heightened security concerns following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and sustained pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump for European allies to shoulder a greater share of defence costs.

"We are building an alliance in which the United States will see a fair partnership," Rutte said.

According to NATO data, the combined defence expenditure of European member states and Canada reached more than 570 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, an increase of approximately 90 billion dollars, or nearly 20 percent, compared with the previous year.

Reuters, citing multiple sources, reported that President Trump may provide positive assurances to President Erdoğan regarding Turkey's possible return to the F-35 stealth fighter programme.

Turkey was removed from the programme and subjected to U.S. sanctions in 2019 after purchasing the Russian-made S-400 air defence system.

The summit is also expected to reaffirm NATO's continued support for Ukraine, with member states likely to pledge 70 billion euros in assistance for Kyiv this year.

While full details of the planned defence agreements have not yet been disclosed, the Netherlands is expected to announce defence projects worth more than 3 billion euros.

In addition, NATO plans to procure new surveillance aircraft, while Canada is expected to announce plans to purchase up to 12 submarines from Germany's TKMS (Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems).

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