Ahead of the upcoming NATO summit, Luxembourg has announced its intention to further strengthen cooperation with its NATO partners.
The summit officially begins on Tuesday evening with a dinner, preceded by a defence industry forum currently taking place in Ankara. During the forum, Luxembourg announced new collaborative initiatives.
Defence Minister Yuriko Backes confirmed in an interview with RTL that the government has entered into or deepened three additional partnerships.
Among the announcements, ten GlobalEye surveillance aircraft from Swedish company Saab are to replace the current AWACS E-3A fleet. The initiative aims to establish a European solution for airspace surveillance, according to Backes.
Backes stated that Luxembourg will contribute alongside other nations to this effort. She explained that the project involves radar-based surveillance capable of operating across the European continent.
Luxembourg also helped found the MRTT unit – aircraft capable of mid-air refuelling – together with the Netherlands some time ago. On Tuesday, Finland was admitted as a new partner, bringing the total fleet to ten such aircraft. In the coming years, two additional aircraft are expected to join, according to the Defence Minister.
To secure future access to rare earths, Luxembourg is joining a consortium of countries aiming to guarantee access to these valuable resources.
The initiative concerns the resilience of supply chains, Backes explained. "Here, it is also important to emphasise that we now have Luxembourgish businesses active in this field", she said.
For Luxembourg as an EU ally, participation in such collaborations is important, the minister noted. In her view, it is equally important for Luxembourgish companies to be part of such a coalition.
The NATO summit officially begins on Tuesday evening and will continue until Wednesday evening.
