The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Daily: The Fallacy of NATO's New Spending Target
Aug 5, 2025
Minna Ålander, an associate fellow at Chatham House, and Max Bergmann, director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, dive into NATO's new 5% defense spending target. They question whether simply increasing budgets will boost military effectiveness and discuss the significant challenges facing European cooperation in defense. The conversation touches on the need for modernizing military equipment and reassessing defense strategies to counter threats from Russia, stressing the importance of cohesive, innovative approaches in a changing geopolitical landscape.
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Spend Smarter, Not More
- NATO's new 5% GDP defense spending target distracts from focusing on improving European military capabilities.
- Capability development, not spending amounts, should guide Europe's defense enhancements.
Czech-Slovak Infantry Vehicle Debacle
- After donating identical Soviet-era vehicles to Ukraine, Czechia and Slovakia switched to different versions of the Swedish CV 90.
- This creates logistical nightmares due to differing ammunition and maintenance needs across countries.
European Equipment Quirks
- Sweden delayed receiving NH-90 helicopters over a 24 cm interior height difference from other variants.
- Denmark rebooted air defense by adopting three variations of the same system, complicating logistics and training.