Executive Summary

There were a few key takeaways from the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, where Covington was present:

• Industrial collaboration boost: Introduced a “Front Door for Industry” to streamline engagement and procurement processes.

• “Made in NATO”: Aims to foster industrial cooperation and ensure nondiscrimination across the Alliance. For non-EU firms, this will help balance the EU’s preference for “made in the EU” production.

• Strategic industry cooperation: Strategy emphasizing communication, innovation, and scaling defense production, recognizing industry as integral to security alongside armed forces.

• Division of roles: NATO focuses on command, control, and capability standards, and the EU to manage funding and regulatory frameworks – a complex but opportunity-rich environment.

Commitments to Capabilities

Europe’s surge in defense spending pledges at last year’s NATO summit in The Hague—3.5% of GDP for core defense and 1.5% of GDP for security-related infrastructure by 2035—is now being implemented in concrete projects and long-term contracts.

As an integral part of this year’s summit in Ankara, NATO held the Defense Industry Forum, where leaders from across the Alliance and executives from over 100 companies announced a flurry of deals at an unprecedented scale of over $50 billion. These included:

• the Airbus air-to-air refueling A330 MRTT aircraft and the A400M strategic airlift planes;

• the Northrop Grumman Triton unmanned aircraft for high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities; and

• the SAAB GlobalEye airborne warning and control system.

In the coming weeks and months, the thirty-two Allies across Europe and North America will continue to accelerate production to address the ongoing security threats posed by Russia and others.

Made in NATO

For the first time in its history, NATO launched a “Front Door for Industry,” which will serve as a single point of contact for firms seeking to engage with NATO, explore procurement opportunities, and understand capability targets across the Alliance. As a transatlantic organization, NATO aims to foster defense industrial cooperation among the Allies and ensure nondiscrimination in policy.

For American, Canadian, British, Norwegian, and Turkish firms, this effort will help balance the EU’s industrial policy trend to give preference to production made in the EU, e.g., in the EU’s draft Industrial Accelerator Act or the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) regulation.

Industry in the Arena

NATO leaders also adopted a strategy for cooperation with industry, outlining three core objectives:

• enhanced communication and collaboration with industry;

• advancing innovation and interoperability; and

• strengthening, scaling and sustaining defence production.

Given the increased financial commitments by Allied governments to defense, the focus now is on how to spend the additional resources and how quickly manufacturing can be expanded. The strategy also recognizes the importance of industry to NATO’s security. Secretary General Mark Rutte argued that the armed forces and the defense industry are part of the same, and both need to work together for shared security and success.

Allocation of Responsibilities Between NATO and EU

There is an emerging division of labor between NATO and the EU on defense and security.

NATO, as Secretary General Rutte noted, is about “command and control, capabilities, and standards.” Through the NATO Defense Planning Process, Allies determine what capabilities they need to confront their security threats, what operational standards are applied to specific equipment and technologies, and who decides in the event of a crisis.

In turn, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted, determines whether common funding in Europe could be made available, as through the SAFE regulation’s €150 billion common debt, or what regulations apply to dual-use systems, such as cloud services, or new technologies, such as AI.

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For industry, especially emerging defense tech firms, navigating both NATO and the EU will be increasingly complex. And it will also open up new opportunities for engagement and to shape the evolving policy debate and landscape. The team at Covington is well placed to advise on these policy developments and engagement with relevant decision-makers. We can help gather intelligence, analyse legislative initiatives, navigate complex regulatory requirements, and design and execute strategy across Europe and North America.