Defense spending to focus on fixing basics, more EU cooperation

Defense is going to eliminate backlogs in the military apparatus. The military will place greater emphasis on specialization and "intensive" cooperation with other European countries, the Ministry of Defense said in the memo "Stronger Netherlands, Safer Europe" on Wednesday.

"First of all, the base of the armed forces will be strengthened," the memo read. The Ministry will increase stocks, buy new equipment, and strengthen the medical chain. The Ministry wants to be able to deploy units "faster, more often, and for longer."

The armed forces will specialize more. "In our investments in Defense, we, therefore, opt for capabilities of added value within the partnerships." This concerns things like intelligence gathering, cyber defense, special forces, and air and missile defense.

There will be more cooperation in Europe. The army will further integrate with the Germans. The navy will cooperate even more closely with the Belgians. Security requires a strong NATO and EU, according to Defense.

The Ministry can pay for these plans because it will receive an additional 5 billion euros on a structural basis, at parliament's insistence after Russia invaded Ukraine. Across Europe, military spending has been rising since the invasion.

Some of Defense's plans had already leaked in the past days. The Ministry plans to buy six F-35 fighter jets and an additional transport aircraft. The commandos and marine soldiers will get a specialized helicopter unit, and four additional Reaper drones will be armed. The navy will receive modern precision weapons, like cruise missiles.