Abhishek G BhayaAs the curtains fell on the NATO Summit in Ankara on Wednesday, alliance leaders projected an image of unity despite a turbulent geopolitical backdrop marked by Russia-Ukraine war, escalating tensions in the Middle East and growing uncertainty over the future global security order.
The summit may also come to be remembered as the point at which NATO began defining what some Turkish officials have described as its next phase.
In remarks after the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the gathering had laid the foundations for "a stronger Europe within a stronger NATO" under a "NATO 3.0" vision — a concept reflecting the alliance's evolution towards greater military readiness, defence industrial capacity and closer cooperation in an increasingly volatile security environment.
For NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the summit represented more than another annual gathering. Their concluding press conferences pointed to an alliance entering a new phase — one where success will be measured less by declarations and more by implementation.
The Ankara summit demonstrated that NATO's priorities are evolving. Defence spending, once the alliance's most contentious debate, has increasingly given way to questions of industrial capacity, military production, technological innovation and the ability to respond simultaneously to multiple security crises.
The challenge now is no longer persuading allies to spend more. It is ensuring they can deliver.
From spending commitments to military capability
Perhaps the clearest message to emerge from Ankara was that NATO believes the era of underinvestment is ending.
Rutte repeatedly described the summit as one focused on implementation rather than promises, arguing that commitments made by allies now need to translate into real military capability.
Trump struck a similar note, albeit in his own characteristically expansive style.
"We discussed the progress other members are making toward the 5-percent target, and they're making great progress," Trump said, claiming allies would collectively spend more than $1 trillion annually on defence.
For years, NATO summits revolved around whether allies would meet the 2 percent spending benchmark. Ankara suggested the debate has shifted.
The focus is now on how rapidly those investments can be converted into deployable forces, ammunition, air defence systems and modern military infrastructure.
Defence factories become strategic assets
Another defining theme of the summit was defence production.
Trump repeatedly argued that production capacity — not merely procurement — would determine NATO's future readiness.
"We make the best [defence] equipment in the world," he said, pointing to plans to dramatically expand US manufacturing capacity for missiles and other advanced weapons.
He argued that allies should no longer wait years for military equipment but eventually receive deliveries within weeks as industrial production accelerates.
Rutte likewise emphasised the need for NATO members to expand defence industrial capacity after years in which production failed to keep pace with growing security demands.
For an alliance confronting a prolonged war in Ukraine while preparing for future contingencies elsewhere, the ability to manufacture weapons at scale is increasingly viewed as part of deterrence itself.
Türkiye seeks a larger role inside NATO
Hosting the summit also allowed Türkiye to showcase its growing role within the alliance.
Erdogan stressed that Türkiye commands NATO's second-largest land force and remains central to security on the alliance's southeastern flank.
But his message extended beyond military manpower.
He argued that Türkiye has become one of the few NATO members capable of independently producing fighter aircraft, tanks, naval vessels, drones and integrated air defence systems.
"Today, in terms of defence spending, military capabilities and the defence industry that underpins them, we are well ahead of many allies," Erdogan said, highlighting indigenous projects such as the Steel Dome air defence initiative and the global success of Turkish unmanned aerial vehicles.
The summit itself reinforced that message.
Several multinational defence initiatives announced in Ankara included Turkish participation, underlining Ankara's objective to position itself not merely as a frontline ally but as an increasingly important contributor to NATO's defence industrial ecosystem.
F-35 talks amid growing US-Türkiye defence ties
Another closely-watched outcome of the summit was Trump's consistently positive language regarding Türkiye.
Asked about Ankara's long-standing request to rejoin the F-35 fighter programme, Trump praised Erdogan as "a really great man" and said his inclination was favourable.
"My inclination is to say, look, he's done everything. He's helped us in so many different ways," Trump said.
Erdogan, for his part, said Trump had adopted a "positive approach" toward the issue and expressed confidence that Türkiye would eventually receive the fifth-generation fighter jets.
Trump's and Erdogan's remarks showed a notable improvement in bilateral defence relations after years of tensions stemming from Türkiye's acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 missile defence system.
Beyond Ukraine
Although the Russia-Ukraine war remained NATO's central security concern, the summit also illustrated how the alliance's agenda has broadened.
Trump devoted much of his concluding press conference to Iran, arguing that recent US military action had prevented Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Erdogan used his remarks to renew calls for diplomacy in both Ukraine and the Middle East.
"There are no losers in a just peace," he said, reiterating Türkiye's offer to host renewed negotiations between Russia and Ukraine while warning that the region "can tolerate neither new tensions nor new conflicts."
Rutte similarly argued that NATO must prepare for an increasingly interconnected security environment in which challenges extend beyond Europe to encompass the Middle East, terrorism, cyber threats and strategic competition with China.
Rather than replacing NATO's traditional mission, those issues are increasingly becoming part of it.
The road after Ankara
If previous NATO summits were defined by new pledges, the Ankara gathering may ultimately be remembered for shifting the alliance's focus towards implementation.
The summit already delivered a series of concrete outcomes that could shape the alliance in the years ahead. Leaders reaffirmed the drive towards the new 5 percent defence spending benchmark, unveiled fresh multinational defence industry initiatives aimed at boosting production and procurement, expanded cooperation on emerging technologies including drones and innovation, and reinforced NATO's long-term deterrence posture against evolving security threats.
The summit also underscored a greater role for allies such as Turkiye in strengthening the alliance's industrial and military capabilities. Rather than redefining NATO overnight, Ankara laid the foundations for the alliance's next phase of adaptation. Its significance lies in the direction it set.
Higher defence spending, expanded industrial production, closer defence cooperation and greater emphasis on resilience now form the pillars of NATO's next phase.
Whether those ambitions become reality will determine the alliance's future, as reflected in the declarations issued in Ankara.
