Minister of Defence Jaromír Zůna travelled to Washington, D.C., this week. His program included a meeting with Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge A. Colby and his principal advisor for defence and foreign policy. They discussed the U.S. political-strategic concept NATO 3.0 of which Colby is the lead architect, defence-industrial cooperation, defence spending, Czech Armed Forces modernisation and development of Transatlantic cooperation. This was Minister Zůna’s first visit in the Pentagon while in office.
The new strategic concept NATO 3.0, coined and led by Under Secretary Colby, calls for European Allies to take more responsibility for their defence. During President’s Trump first term, Elbridge A. Colby led preparations of the 2018 National Defence Strategy which fast-tracked fairer burden sharing among Allies. Supported by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte earlier this year, the NATO 3.0 concept elaborates the strategic rebalancing into the U.S. being the main guarantor of nuclear deterrence and Europe providing most of conventional military capacities. According to Minister Zůna, the Czech Republic fully subscribes to this concept.
Under Secretary Colby showed a deep interest in Czech defence spending and modernisation. Minister Zůna informed that the draft FY27 budget appropriates US$ 8.8 billion for defence. This represents a US$ 1.66 billion increase year-to-year. In addition, the budget is heavily centred on investments – compared to FY26, the defence investments grow from US$ 1.19 to US$ 3.96 billion.
Minister Zůna briefed his counterpart on the ongoing modernisation of the Czech Armed Forces and capabilities building. He said the process will foster a technologically advanced military force which will provide both national defence and deliver a significant contribution to collective defence. As for the future direction of European defence, Under Secretary Colby supports the development of European industrial production and Transatlantic cooperation – Europe should grow, build its military capabilities, be productive, and play an important role in conventional defence.
In this regard, Under Secretary Colby appreciated the success of Czech defence industries which struck success in the U.S. and help renew the U.S. industrial base. Be it Colt CZ Group, CSG, PBS or many others, industries are active across the States, provide thousands of jobs and have already invested billions. Both leaders agreed the synergising of U.S. and Czech businesses has generated growth through employment in both countries and yielded prosperity for both the USA and the Czech Republic.
