Bloomberg: NATO has started sharing classified military information with industry
NATO plans to share classified military information with industry and the EU, Bloomberg reports. This is information about the intended targets for military capabilities, which determine which weapons and equipment should be produced by alliance members and in what quantities.
Andrea Palasciano
NATO has begun sharing its military capabilities targets (previously highly classified) — which determine which weapons and equipment alliance members need to produce and in what quantities — with the military industry, according to informed sources.
The alliance took this step as part of an increase in production, while its new Secretary General Mark Rutte called for a “shift to military thinking.”
According to informed sources who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the topic, the alliance is looking for a way to express some of its common goals in a secure format in order to share this information with industry representatives and convince companies to increase production capacity. This step will require consensus among the allies, but it may happen in the next few months.
The initiative appeared at a stage when NATO members are actively rearming amid the conflict in Ukraine. The return of Donald Trump to the White House has only added urgency and urgency to these efforts. Earlier, the US president threatened to withhold military support to those of the allies who do not spend enough money on defense.
As part of a separate procedure, the alliance began sharing previously classified standards with the European Union, which also includes the majority of 32 NATO members, except for nine, the sources said. Due to confidentiality, this data will be published gradually as it is processed and updated.
These standards are military criteria for unifying the armed forces of the Allies and increasing interoperability. In particular, these include the caliber of the weapon or the general military terminology.
Access to this information will allow EU members to bring standards into uniformity on both military and dual-use issues, including radio frequencies.
A NATO official said that the process of exchanging standards, including with the EU, has begun as part of the alliance's new defense plans. In addition, he is also working more closely with the industry, the official said.
Recently, NATO shared material standards with the EU without the “top secret" label. The European Union's Commissioner for Defense, Andrius Kubilius, called the move an “unprecedented” show of trust.
According to informed sources, this step was taken at the initiative of Rutte. Since taking office in October, the former Dutch prime Minister has focused on strengthening ties between NATO and the EU.
Rutte also urged the defense industry to increase production. This mainly concerns the Old World.
“Money is already on the table, and there will only be more,— he said in a December speech, urging companies to “introduce additional shifts and launch new production lines.”
Under Rutte's leadership, NATO is expected to adopt new, expanded military capability targets, which will be accompanied by increased defense spending standards for allies (currently they amount to 2% of GDP). This could happen as early as next summer at the alliance's annual summit in The Hague.
