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As part of new procurements announced at the summit in Ankara, NATO will buy up to five MQ-4C Triton to complement the RQ-4Ds of the AGS Fleet and reinforce maritime surveillance.

Following the GlobalEye’s selection for the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) role, NATO also says that Denmark, Finland, Germany and Norway announced the procurement of up to five Northrop Grumman’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft. The announcement was made at the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7, 2026.

The aircraft will reinforce NATO’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Force and complement the RQ-4Ds of the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Fleet that operates from Sigonella airbase in Italy. NATO says the MQ-4C “will increase Allies’ ability to detect threats early, protect our sea lines of communication, and support operations in demanding regions, such as the Arctic and the High North.”

NATO’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Force just got stronger

The Alliance is adding up to 5⃣ Triton uncrewed aircraft that will help detect threats early, protect sea lines of communication & support Arctic operations.

https://t.co/jrSCfDfdXR#NATOsummit pic.twitter.com/VyJPJIbKHE

— NATO (@NATO) July 7, 2026

Notably, the procurement will see a deep involvement of the European industry, in what NATO has described as a “transatlantic industrial consortium.” In fact, while Northrop Grumman will build the Tritos, Airbus Defence and Space and other European companies will provide the ground segment, data management services, command and control, infrastructure and mission support, says the statement.

The MQ-4C Triton

The MQ-4C Triton is the U.S. Navy’s newest Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Maritime Patrol asset and augments the capabilities of the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. The aircraft is based upon the U.S. Air Force’s RQ-4B Global Hawk, while its sensors are based upon components of (or entire systems) already fielded in the DoD inventory, according to NAVAIR’s description.

Also known as Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS), the MQ-4C platform complements the P-8A Poseidon within the Navy’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force family of systems. Aircrew gather and process surveillance information utilizing data fusion tools that integrate sensor data from multiple aircraft into a comprehensive networked picture to further assist in building an accurate threat representation.

A U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton assigned to Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 takes off from the flightline at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Oct. 5, 2022. | Source: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David Getz

After assembling lessons learned from Triton’s initial deployment to Guam in 2020, the MQ-4C received significant updates including an upgraded sensor suite. These enhancements increase Triton’s ability to provide a persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting (MISR-T) capability.

The MQ-4C is believed to be a sort of Block 20 and Block 30 Global Hawk hybrid, carrying Navy payload including an AN/ZPY-3 multi-function active-sensor (MFAS) radar system. This gives the Triton the ability to cover more than 2.7 million square miles in a single mission that can last as long as 24 hours at a time, at altitudes higher than 50,000 ft, with an operational range of 8,200 nautical miles.

Expanded Strategic Airlift

As part of the new programs and acquisitions announced during the summit, a new multinational High Visibility Project will involve a fleet of Airbus A400M transport aircraft. The program was launched by Belgium, Croatia, France, Poland, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

At the #NATOSummit in Ankara, Türkiye , @NATO paves the way towards a Multinational #A400M Fleet with European governments designed to address strategic airlift capability gaps among European allies.
The objective is to establish a ‘pooling and sharing’ strategy similar to the… pic.twitter.com/Q8loR4H1Wd

— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) July 7, 2026

NATO’s statement says the new program will follow the same ‘pooling and sharing’ concept of the Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) Fleet (MMF) based on the A330 MRTT. Participating countries will thus pool the aircraft and share costs, benefitting from economies of scale.

The statement further says that the “Airbus A400M gives NATO and Allied forces much greater operational flexibility, and allows the movement of military assets across the Alliance in peace, conflict and crisis.” These aircraft will complement the three C-17 Globemaster II aircraft of the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) which are based at Pápa airbase in Hungary.

Additionally, NATO said that Finland joined the MMF program which now counts nine members, with the others being Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The statement also mentioned the imminent delivery of the 10th Airbus A330 MRTT, bringing the fleet closer to its full capacity of 12 aircraft.

A German Air Force A400M. | Source: Bundeswehr/Christian Timmig

Counter-Drone Capabilities

Another large program announced at the summit is the investment of over 40 billion dollars in counter-drone capabilities over the next five years. NATO says it will establish “a counter-drone marketplace that will ensure that systems are NATO-tested, NATO-compatible, and available for purchase.”

Additionally, the Alliance is aiming to train five times as many drone operators by the end of 2027. This will be done by leveraging NATO’s multinational Flight Training Europe (NFTE) initiative, says the statement.

The initiative was created in 2020 to facilitate aircrew training, with full operational capability reached in 2024 and a total of 16 locations participating across eight countries. Among these are the International Flight Training School (IFTS) in Italy and the Flight Training Centre Pardubice in Czechia, which were the first two to be selected.

A joint Italian Air Force-Italian Army team with a Fuciliere dell’Aria carrying a C-UAS system. | Source: ANSA

The initiative will now be extended to cover training for drone operators. Additionally, Finland, France and Sweden announced during the summit that they joined the seventeen other NFTE members.

High-End Space Capabilities

Multinational initiatives and partnerships to develop new space-based NATO capabilities have also been announced. Among this is a new multinational initiative named HALO – Hybrid Alliance Layered Operations in Space – launched by eight Allies.

“HALO will focus on improving connectivity and integration of sovereign, nationally owned and controlled military satellites into a networked mega constellation,” says NATO. The initiative “aims to improve Alliance resilience and military advantage in space,” by enabling high-speed communications, intelligence and missile tracking while overcoming the cost, time and coverage limitations of single-nation satellite constellations.

NATO’s STARLIFT multinational initiative expanded with Canada entering as the 15th member. The goal is to explore “ways to develop a network of launch capabilities that will help Allies launch assets at short notice from spaceports across the Alliance,” allowing to “react more quickly to threats from space.”

STARLIFT was launched in 2024, with reports about a possible proposal to join sent also to Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, German company Isar Aerospace signed a contract with Canada’s Maritime Launch Services to secure access the launch infrastructure and services at Spaceport Nova Scotia and improve its orbital launch readiness.

Additionally, Spain became the 19th country to join NATO’s Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS). The initiative, launched in 2022, has been defined as “the largest multinational investment in space-based capabilities in NATO’s history.”

By December 2025, the APSS achieved initial operational capability, allowing commanders to access timely, relevant information for decision-making. Spain will contribute by increasing coastal surveillance through imagery from its “Atlantic Constellation” satellites.