The Fastest Growing Military in Europe Is Not the One You Think

Romania's military is expanding faster than any other NATO member in Europe. Here is how a country that was often overlooked is becoming one of the alliance's most capable members.

The discussion of European defence spending tends to focus on Germany's Zeitenwende, Poland's 4-percent ambition, and France's nuclear posture. These are all genuine and important stories. The story that receives insufficient attention is Romania — a country that has been methodically and quietly building NATO's most improved military in eastern Europe.

Romania's defence spending has increased from 1.8 percent of GDP in 2018 to 2.6 percent in 2025 and is projected to reach 3 percent in 2026. In absolute terms, this is not in the same league as Germany or France. In proportional terms of improvement, capability investment relative to starting point, and strategic coherence of the investment programme, Romania's story is arguably the most impressive in the alliance.

The Romanian armed forces have signed contracts for F-35 fighter jets — the same platform that Germany and the Netherlands are deploying — which will replace their Soviet-era MiG-21 fleet and give Romania a genuinely modern, NATO-interoperable air combat capability for the first time. They have expanded their Patriot air defence battery fleet, commissioned the first of four new corvettes for Black Sea operations, and invested heavily in cyber and electronic warfare capabilities that are specifically calibrated to the Russian threat that Romania's geography makes most relevant.

Romania also hosts some of NATO's most strategically significant permanent installations: the Aegis Ashore missile defence facility at Deveselu, which is one of only two such facilities in Europe; the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, which has been expanded to host rotating US and NATO air assets; and training ranges that host regular multinational exercises that build exactly the interoperability that collective defence requires.

The combination of investment momentum, geographic position on NATO's eastern and southern flanks, and the specific threat awareness that comes from bordering Russia-aligned territory makes Romania increasingly central to NATO's planning for the scenarios that matter most.