Last week, Netherlands Minister of Defence Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius and Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Tom Berendsen announced that the Netherlands has joined an exercise with the Coalition of the Willing (CotW). This coalition consists of countries that wish to be part of the Multinational Force Ukraine and aims to strengthen and modernise the Ukrainian armed forces once the war has ended.
New milestone on the way to NATO 3.0
Maintenance of Patriot air defence missiles will be established in Poland, the US government announced during the National Armaments Directors meeting last week. Enabling maintenance in a European country is an important first step towards the realisation of NATO 3.0.
The European maintenance facility will strengthen the robust transatlantic industrial cooperation and enhance the operational availability of the Patriot systems. The Netherlands is a key driver of this cooperation, working on the next steps alongside Lockheed Martin and coalition partners Germany, Sweden, and Poland.
Deterrence is crucial says Minister Yesilgöz
The Netherlands and the United Kingdom are to cooperate more closely on defence. Netherlands Minister of Defence Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius and her British counterpart Wes Streeting announced this last week in Liverpool on board of HNLMS Johan de Witt. "Our partnership is a cornerstone of the alliance's deterrence strategy,” the minister said. “Deterrence is of vital importance, as we are being tested on a daily basis. Russia's war against Ukraine is accompanied by hybrid threats throughout Europe." The minister visited the navy ship together with King Willem-Alexander.