As NATO allies gather, a central proposal suggests member states elevate overall defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This recommendation underscores the necessity for European allies, particularly those in Western Europe, to bolster their defense investments, which have been insufficient since the Cold War’s end. While increasing resources for defense establishments, Europe must prioritize not only conventional military assets like planes, tanks, and ships but also the military mobility of NATO forces.

At the summit, leaders are anticipated to pledge 3.5 percent of their GDP to customary defense expenditures and an additional 1.5 percent to defense-related outlays. This supplementary spending focuses on infrastructure protection and cybersecurity, deemed as vital as investments in weapon systems. Efficient troop and equipment movement via land,sea,and air is crucial for NATO’s power projection and force sustainment-a capability that hinges on the reliable operation of transportation and power networks.

Authoritarian adversaries, including Russia and China, recognize that compromising critical infrastructure through cyber and physical attacks could hinder the deployment, supply, and sustainment of forces by the United States and its NATO allies. The chinese cyber group “Volt Typhoon” has strategically positioned destructive capabilities within energy, transportation, and dialog systems to undermine America’s response to potential aggression against Taiwan.Similarly, Moscow has targeted satellite communication systems to degrade Kyiv’s command and control capabilities during the invasion of Ukraine.

In the United States, the Pentagon relies on commercially owned transportation networks for troop and equipment movement. Private and municipal utilities provide essential services to American military bases. This reliance extends across Europe, where NATO forces depend on critical infrastructure managed by local governments and companies. Military readiness is contingent upon asset owners investing in reliable and secure infrastructure.

Strategic Infrastructure Priorities

“NATO must be assured that its ability to flow U.S., UK, and French forces into and through Europe is uninterrupted.”

while the Pentagon has identified key strategic assets, including 18 commercially owned seaports, 70 civilian airfields, and 40,000 miles of rail lines, a similar consensus is lacking within Europe. The Supreme Allied Commander Europe emphasizes the need to ensure the uninterrupted flow of U.S., UK, and French forces into and through Europe.

Faced with cyber threats from russia and China, European countries are evaluating cyber resilience investments based on their assessments of critical infrastructure entities vital to public health, economic prosperity, and national security. NATO requires members to allocate 1.5 percent of GDP to enhance the cyber and physical security of assets essential to the alliance, such as rail lines, power generation facilities, and communication networks. These priorities may differ from individual member states’ assessments.

Enhancing Cyber and Physical Security

Prioritizing investments in critical infrastructure will enable governments to provide timely and actionable data about cyber threats,facilitating effective responses. Beyond information sharing, NATO members should allocate state funds to support small and medium-sized infrastructure owners in implementing necessary cybersecurity upgrades. Additionally, member states must identify and remove devices from adversaries like China that could cause disruptions, ensuring uninterrupted operation.

The Alliance should also prioritize critical infrastructure disruption scenarios in exercises and wargames to identify investments that mitigate the impact of cyber and physical attacks. NATO’s forthcoming Integrated Cyber defense Center can play a crucial role in information sharing, strategic planning, and asset prioritization.

For too long, many NATO allies have underinvested in defense, ignoring threats posed by Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. However, recent events, including “President Trump’s vocal complaints about lackluster European defense spending and Vladimir Putin’s violent military aggression against Ukraine”, have spurred NATO members to increase their security budgets.

As member states increase their security budgets, they must recognize that airfields, ports, railways, pipelines, liquid natural gas terminals, and power grids are strategic military assets. This week’s Summit should remind NATO countries that neglecting the physical and cyber security of critical infrastructure undermines their forces’ readiness.