The NATO Military Committee convened on 14 May against the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The committee received an update on the ongoing NATO Mission Iraq, which has been reduced as a response to the pandemic although the alliance continues to support Iraqi security forces.
Air Chief Marshal Peach, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, said: ‘When the conditions permit, and working with the government of Iraq, we will resume our training efforts as well as increase our activities on the ground.’
A review of NATO commitments in Afghanistan was on the agenda particularly as a result of recent terror attacks in Kabul and Nangarhar.
Despite this, Peach said ‘we have seen, with guarded optimism some encouraging signs in the intra-Afghan negotiations that could lead to a political solution for the people of Afghanistan’.
The final session of the virtual meeting addressed the NATO response to coronavirus; EU Military Committee General Claudio Graziano briefed attendees on resilience and potential lessons to be learned.
Any potential ‘Arctic Sentry’ mission would be months in the planning, but with tensions high in the region given the US’s push for Greenland, NATO countries will need to continue to emphasise their commitment to the region, analysts have said.
Defence Minister Gen Vladimir Padrino López has declared that the Venezuelan armed forces “will continue to employ all its available capabilities for military defence”.
The UK’s defence spending commitments remain uncertain as the government’s Defence Investment Plan, which had been due by the end of 2025, is yet to be published.
Disruption of infrastructure in Europe, whether by cyberattack, physical damage to pipelines or uncrewed aerial vehicles flying over major airports, as has happened more recently, is on the rise. What is the most effective way of countering the aerial aspect of this not-so-open warfare?
The US State Department’s approval of a multi-billion-dollar sale of weapons to Taiwan includes tactical mission networks equipment, uncrewed aerial systems, artillery rocket systems and self-propelled howitzers as well as anti-tank guided missiles.
Ireland’s multi-annual investment in capital defence spending is set to rise from €300m in 2026 to €360m in 2029–2030 with major upgrades across land, air, maritime and cyber domains.
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