America’s True NATO Allies Are on the Eastern Flank | Opinion
Summary
Ahead of the July 7-8 NATO summit, President Donald Trump highlighted that the U.S. spends much more on defense than other NATO members. Eastern European countries like Poland and Lithuania spend a larger share of their GDP on defense and are becoming strong allies to the U.S. due to the threat from Russia.Key Facts
- The U.S. defense spending is about $999 billion, much higher than the U.K.’s $90.5 billion and France’s $66.5 billion.
- Poland spends 4.48% of its GDP on defense, higher than the U.S. at 3.22%.
- Other top NATO spenders by GDP share are Lithuania (4%), Latvia (3.73%), and Estonia (3.38%).
- Germany plans to double its defense budget in four years and aims for 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2029.
- The U.K. announced £64 billion ($84 billion) for nuclear defense and upgrades to drones and fighter jets.
- Poland has more than doubled its defense spending since Russia invaded Ukraine and acts as a key logistics hub sending aid to Ukraine.
- Poland launched a citizen training program called “wGotowości” to train 400,000 people for crisis response by 2026.
- Lithuania is investing in tanks, fighting vehicles, drones, and civilian training on drone skills.
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