With Putin on the Prowl, Is NATO Ready to Unite?

This month, with little fanfare, France made its warplanes eligible for "air policing duties" over its own airspace and that of neighboring countries. And as of yesterday, French airspace is now included in the NATO's integrated air and missile defense system. NATO can now protect a seamless stretch of airspace—from Spain up to Norway, and from Europe's Atlantic coast to the eastern border of Turkey.

"As with every other ally, French sovereignty is maintained through air policing," said Lieutenant-General Dominique de Longvilliers, Deputy Commander of Allied Air Command. "It is an important step forward for the Alliance."

Why does this matter? Simply put, air policing is the way that NATO nations defend against risks like aerial incursions from Russian warplanes or hijacked airliners. But France, in particular, has long been queasy about committing fully to NATO. And lately, it and other NATO nations in Europe haven't sounded totally committed to this defense plan, even with Russia on the rise

Consider missile defense, where things are also looking a little rosier for NATO (at least on the surface). Missile defense is just as important as it's ever been in today's strategic landscape, where long-distance missiles can threaten military bases and populations from thousands of miles away. The alliance's ballistic missile defense system—made of sea- and land-based missiles that can shoot down incoming missiles, has been up and running in a limited capacity since 2012. Officials have said the Alliance remains committed to full coverage for all NATO European territory by 2020. (Watch a dated [2013] but relevant overview video of NATO's missile defense here).

So is this a new dawn in Europe's commitment to NATO? Not quite. The same week as the missile defense integration with France was announced, the Pew Research Center released a survey showing very tepid support of the alliance. "At least half of Germans, French and Italians say their country should not use military force to defend a NATO ally if attacked by Russia," the report said. Pew found 53 percent of the French polled would not use force to defend NATO allies.

Funding is another chronic problem: France devotes 1.5 percent of its GDP to its defense budget, shy of the 2 percent of spending that NATO members are supposed to meet. The fact is, almost no NATO nations meet this requirement. Having ballistic missile defense across the entire continent is great, but getting that set up depends on voluntary contributions from NATO members. And there's no guarantee the funding will be there, Putin or no Putin.

Having a defense agreement doesn't mean that the signing nations automatically fight by your side when the bullets fly. This certainly applies to France, which has a rocky history with NATO. In 1966, France dropped out of NATO to maintain its independence. The nation rejoined in 2009, but made it clear that it could refuse to become involved in military operations. (Officials at the time pointed to Germany's decision to sit out the war in Iraq.)

Still, this is a political and military success for NATO. Europe needs more warplanes at the ready as things heat up with Russia. But the political message is also a win. As Russian president Vladimir Putin tours Europe trying to leverage any weaknesses he can find, any show of solidarity for NATO, which was formed in the first place to thwart Russian aggression, is welcome.