NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said during a visit to a Rheinmetall artillery plant in Germany on Wednesday that the defense industry in Europe and North America “means more than ever” and that “ensuring we are strong and successful is an absolute priority for NATO.”Rutte warned that the alliance is being “aggressively challenged” by Russia and China, which are expanding their military capabilities “with little transparency and at an incredible rate to secure spheres of influence, project power and undermine the rules-based international order.” However, he stressed that Europe and North America are on course to “turn the tide on defense production.” He cited increased defense spending and pledges made by allies at the NATO summit in June, adding that he is seeing an acceleration of the defense industry output and innovation.