Europe May Not Be Willing to Spend Money on Its Own Defense

Military spending is expensive, and they have votes to buy with lavish social welfare states. Europe is still dithering about defense

Instead of urgently ramping up defense production and building a self-sufficient security framework, European nations continue to lean on Washington for leadership and resources. Europe’s citizens, meanwhile, are left watching and waiting, hoping that NATO’s security umbrella will hold.

The Hill has a rosy view of NATO, but be fair, it was always mostly a one-legged stool. Having the US pay the bulk of bill probably made sense in 1955, or 1965, but by 1975 Europe, and in particular Germany, should have been paying more. The United Kingdom and France have done a credible job of having a military commensurate with the size of their economy, even if France did make a few questionable purchases - like a nuclear aircraft carrier that didn't have enough shielding around the reactor to make actually using the thing possible.

One of the clearest examples of NATO’s misaligned priorities is Germany’s extensive Air Force deployment across the Indo-Pacific, a region increasingly defined by military tensions, territorial disputes and strategic competition between China and the U.S. As part of its operations, Germany has sent fighter jets and support aircraft to Alaska, Japan, Hawaii, Australia and India for joint training missions.

Why is Germany prioritizing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific when European security remains fragile? The U.S. values European support in Asia, but what it truly expects is a stronger, self-sufficient defense framework in Europe that ensures NATO remains a collective alliance, not one dependent on America.

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Nothing will be solved in the short run. After decades of NOT spending money on their militaries, they won't make up the difference with a couple of years of spending 2% of GDP. I've seen one estimate that Germany needs to spend an additional $432 billion to completely modernize their military. That isn't going to happen.