NATO to launch strategic airlift fleet of A400M, Rutte says
Source: Reuters
NATO will launch a strategic airlift fleet of Airbus A400M transport planes and add one aircraft to its existing fleet of A330 MRTT tanker planes, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara on Tuesday.
He was speaking at a defence industry gathering where allies unveiled arms deals worth billions of dollars to show they are heeding U.S. calls to spend more to defend Europe before joining President Donald Trump for the summit starting in the evening.
...
The MRTT project has nine A330s, which can double as troop or passenger aircraft, based at Eindhoven, Netherlands. By adding another tanker, the military alliance will move closer to plugging gaps left in its defence plans after the United States reduced its contributions.
NATO is seeking to expand the fleet to 12 in the longer run. Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden participate in the programme.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-launch-strategic-airlift-fleet-a400m-rutte-says-2026-07-07/
By Sabine Siebold
July 7, 2026
8:35 AM EDT
Updated 53 mins ago
ANKARA, July 7 (Reuters)