NATO countries have ditched plans to buy US-made Boeing aircraft to replace the alliance’s ageing fleet of surveillance planes, after Washington pulled out of the programme, the Netherlands said Thursday.
The Western military alliance had announced in 2023 that members would acquire six Boeing Wedgetail jets in one of its “biggest-ever” joint purchases as it looked to bolster its capabilities against Russia.
But the Dutch defence ministry said that a consortium of six NATO countries had now decided not to go ahead with buying Boeing after the United States ended its involvement in July.
The move opens the door for the purchase of European-made aircraft as Washington’s allies look to bolster their own producers amid doubts over the reliability of US support under President Donald Trump.
“The withdrawal of the US demonstrates the importance of investing as much as possible in European industry,” deputy Dutch defence minister Gijs Tuinman said.
The current fleet of NATO AWACS surveillance planes — dubbed the alliance’s “eyes in the sky” — will reach the end of their service in 2035.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said Thursday that he “will do everything to make sure that we speed up” the decision on their replacements.
The jets are operated centrally by the alliance out of its Geilenkirchen airbase in Germany, with intelligence shared among NATO’s 32 members.
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