Why NATO’s deterrence now depends on capital, technology and trust
Why NATO’s deterrence now depends on capital, technology and trust
https://decode39.com/15318/why-natos-deterrence-now-depends-on-capital-technology-and-trust/
Publish Date: 2026-06-19 09:23:00
Source Domain: decode39.com
Speaking at FII Europe in Rome, NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone argued that deterrence increasingly depends on industrial capacity, technological leadership and trusted partnerships as much as on military power. He also framed Europe’s growing defence role as complementary to NATO, defining strategic autonomy as “transatlantic strategic autonomy”
ROME — Deterrence is no longer measured solely in troops, tanks or missile systems. It increasingly depends on industrial capacity, technological innovation, resilient supply chains and trusted partnerships. That was the central message delivered by Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Europe conference in Rome, where policymakers, investors and business leaders gathered to discuss Europe’s economic future.
Security as an economic asset. Speaking to an audience more accustomed to discussing capital flows than military planning, Cavo Dragone argued that the geopolitical environment confronting Europe has changed profoundly.
- Russia’s large scale invasion of Ukraine continues to reshape the continent’s security architecture, while developments in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East increasingly affect European interests. Challenges once viewed as separate have become interconnected.
- For decades, Europe benefited from what he described as a security dividend: that environment has disappeared. Today, deterrence extends well beyond military power. Armed forces remain indispensable, but they operate within a broader ecosystem that includes technological leadership, industrial readiness, societal resilience and the capacity to absorb disruption.
- “Security and prosperity are not in competition. They are the same investment.”
The economics of deterrence. A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the relationship between economic strength and security. In Cavo Dragone’s view, the…
