AF: Henning Okholm
FOTO: Zhong Min Peng©RP
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — September 20, 2026 — The NATO Military Committee held its 2026 meeting in Copenhagen on September 19, bringing together the Chiefs of Defence from all 32 NATO member countries to discuss the Alliance’s collective deterrence and defence, military innovation and technology, and continued support for Ukraine.
The meeting also focused on follow-up work from the Alliance’s recent summit, including the implementation of agreed defence arrangements and the development of military capabilities in response to a changing security environment.
The NATO Military Committee is the Alliance’s highest military authority. It provides military advice to the North Atlantic Council on defence and security policy, strategy and operations, and provides military guidance to NATO’s two strategic commands. The International Military Staff supports the committee with administrative and professional expertise.
The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone. Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Army General Alexus G. Grynkewich, and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, French Admiral Pierre Vandier, also took part in the meeting.
Admiral Cavo Dragone addressed the meeting on the morning of September 19. Later in the day, he held a joint press conference with Denmark’s Chief of Defence, General Michael Wiggers Hyldgaard.
The discussions also covered NATO’s current security environment and the Alliance’s defence readiness. NATO’s military leadership is continuing work on defence arrangements agreed at previous summits, while assessing the military capabilities required to respond to evolving security challenges.
The Danish Defence said that hosting the meeting in Copenhagen was part of Denmark’s responsibilities as a NATO member and its contribution to Alliance cooperation and hosting duties.
The NATO Military Committee normally meets three times a year at the level of Chiefs of Defence. Two of the meetings are held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, while the third is hosted by an Allied member state.
During the Copenhagen meeting, the NATO Military Committee also elected its next chairman. General Carsten Breuer, Chief of Defence of Germany, was elected to serve as the next Chairman of the NATO Military Committee. He will serve a three-year term and is expected to take over from Admiral Cavo Dragone in the summer of 2027.
NATO said that the committee’s day-to-day work is carried out by the military representatives of Allied countries based at NATO Headquarters. Through its military advice to the North Atlantic Council and its role in translating political decisions into military guidance, the committee serves as an important link between NATO’s political decision-making structures and its military command structure.
Following the Copenhagen meeting, the NATO Military Committee will continue its work on collective defence, military capability development, technological innovation and ongoing NATO operations and missions.
The next full meeting of NATO Chiefs of Defence is scheduled to take place in Brussels in January 2027.
