Brussels
\nAs the Russia-Ukraine war has been raging since February 2022, creating a security threat to Europe, Nato\u2019s top general Christopher Cavoli called to ramp up the military production and armament to defend against aggression Thursday.
\nWhile speaking in an interview with the AFP, Cavoli said that the military alliance is ready to defend itself.
\nToday, the allied powers marked the 80 years since the US-led World War II coalition landed on the D-Day to liberate France from Nazi occupation.
\nCurrently, the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe Cavoli has been attentive to to the Russian special military operation against Ukraine and Moscow\u2019s potential threat to Nato countries.
\nThe top general said in Normandy: \u201cNato is ready to do collective territorial defence.\u201d
\nHe pointed to a vast exercise dubbed Steadfast Defender 24, which involved 90,000 Nato troops across multiple European countries from January to May.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve shifted our focus entirely over the last couple of years. We used to do out-of-area operations, now we\u2019re focused on defending the territory of the alliance,\u201d Cavoli said.
\n\u201cBut when it comes to military equipment… we need to build more, we need to expand our industrial base,\u201d he added.
\nRussia\u2019s special military operation against Ukraine and Kyiv\u2019s Western-backed defences have shown the vast appetite of modern conflicts for ammunition and other related equipment.
\nIt has, however, taken time for defence manufacturers to ramp up output of items from artillery shells to vehicles and drones.
\n\u201cWe need to generate hardware more quickly. I think all the nations in the alliance realise that and are working on it,\u201d Cavoli said.
\nStudying Russia-Ukraine war
\nHe joked that \u201cif you ever want to feel a little bit of pressure, take a job Dwight D. Eisenhower had\u201d \u2014 referring to the World War II commander and later US president who was the first to hold the position Cavoli took up in 2022.
\nFacing a new generation of warfare, the general added that the 32-member alliance is \u201cgoing to take a very deliberate effort to study everything about the [Russia-Ukraine] conflict so that we can develop from it\u201d.
\nHe cited \u201cinnovative uses of hardware\u201d, such as the low-cost drones used by both sides for reconnaissance and attack.
\nNato troops would also be learning from \u201ctechniques and tactics\u201d used on Ukrainian battlefields at a new \u201clessons learned\u201d centre to be set up in Poland, Cavoli added.
\nSpeaking at the cemetery for Americans killed in the D-Day landings and subsequent fighting through Normandy 80 years ago, Cavoli said that \u201cthese cemeteries throughout Europe, throughout the world, are very inspirational to us.
\n\u201cThey remind me of my own soldiers that I\u2019ve lost,\u201d he added.
\nBeyond turning out more weaponry, \u201cthere\u2019s a difference between having the equipment and really being able to use it effectively… it\u2019s our soldiers, our airmen, our marines, our sailors who are true experts.
\n\u201cThe professionalism is what makes us have an advantage,\u201d Cavoli said.
\nFrance\u2019s enduring memory of the liberation from Nazi occupation was on display throughout the landing zone, with many houses along the roads to the cemetery flying the flags of the US and other Allied nations.
\nThe cemetery and the warm local welcome for US troops are \u201cjust a living example of US-French friendship and also the way an alliance comes together and not only fights a war but stays together after a war,\u201d Cavoli said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brussels As the Russia-Ukraine war has been raging since February 2022, creating a security threat to Europe, Nato\u2019s top general Christopher Cavoli called to ramp up the military production and armament to defend against aggression Thursday. While speaking in an interview with the AFP, Cavoli said that the military alliance is ready to defend itself. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-411319","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n