NATO’s mission is to prevent conflict and war by deterring aggression, protecting Allies and their populations, preserving free societies and the rule of law and upholding principles like individual liberty, democracy and human rights. Collective defence deters aggression by ensuring that an aggressor would face preponderant Alliance power and the risk of a swift response.

The Alliance adapts for the future, responding to the challenges that Allies face in their own regions as well as across Europe and beyond. NATO continues to strengthen its deterrence and defence posture. At the 2023 Vilnius Summit and 2024 Washington Summits, Allied Leaders agreed significant measures to reinforce NATO’s readiness and deterrence in land, air, maritime and cyber domains, against all threats and challenges, while also improving NATO’s global resilience and its ability to respond rapidly.

Technology is transforming warfare, and keeping our edge requires Alliance members to invest in innovation. Allies are working to establish international principles for the responsible use of emerging and disruptive technologies, while accelerating their commercialization and developing innovative capabilities.

The Alliance remains focused on the threat from Russia, which is seeking to fundamentally reconfigure the Euro-Atlantic security architecture and waging a campaign of aggressive hybrid actions against NATO and its Allies. These include critical infrastructure sabotage, acts of violence, provocations at Allied borders, instrumentalisation of irregular migration, malicious cyber activities, disinformation campaigns and economic coercion. NATO is also addressing challenges in its southern neighbourhood, where Allies are experiencing a range of asymmetric threats that originate from areas far from their borders, such as conflict, fragility and instability, health emergencies, food insecurity and climate change.