NATO Lacks Resilience To Fight A Long War, Naval Chief Warns

By Ellen Milligan

Dec 19, 2025 (Bloomberg) —NATO militaries currently lack the resilience for a protracted conflict, the alliance’s top maritime commander warned, reinforcing concern that Europe isn’t yet prepared for a long-term confrontation with Russia.

Mike Utley, a vice admiral in the UK’s Royal Navy who leads the bloc’s Allied Maritime Command, said in an interview that Western armed forces need to prepare for a more complicated battlefield ranging from cyber to military threats. He said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had superior capabilities to Russia, but not necessarily the ability to maintain through a period of sustained fighting. 

“Have we got the resilience that we would wish to have? I think the commentary over the last 10 months has shown that, no, we haven’t,” Utley told Bloomberg. “But nations have very much recognized that and are prepared to invest in those capability sets to grow our resilience.”

Senior European security officials have been sounding the alarm about the need to prepare for the possibility of conflict with Russia, as Moscow ramps up hybrid attacks on Europe. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said last week that “Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years” and said the alliance “must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured.”

On Monday, the new heads of Britain’s intelligence services and armed forces issued similar warnings, with MI6 chief Blaise Metreweli saying Europe was “operating in a space between peace and war.” Chief of the Defense Staff Richard Knighton said separately that more Britons needed to be prepared to fight for their country.

Donald Trump’s push to fast-track peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine has renewed worries that the US president wants to shift his focus away from Europe, though the continent’s leaders are hopeful that critical provisions in the Congress-backed National Defense Authorization Act will make it difficult for the US to withdraw troops and key weapons systems from the region.

Even if a ceasefire is reached, Western security officials assess that Vladimir Putin will continue fighting in Ukraine and launching hybrid attacks elsewhere.

While all NATO members except Spain agreed this year to spend at least 3.5% of economic output on core defense programs and another 1.5% on related areas by 2035, they’ve been slower to allocate the money. The UK, where Utley started his military career in 1988, has delayed the release of its own defense investment plan until next year.

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This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.

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