Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday reaffirmed Ankara's commitment to strengthening its contribution to NATO by increasing defense spending.

Axar.az reports, citing Anadolu, "Turkiye has taken measures to raise the ratio of our defense spending to the 3.5% level before 2030," Erdogan said at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of heads of state and government in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

Erdogan said Turkiye has already allocated 1.5% of its budget to security- and resilience-related expenditures.

He also announced that Turkiye has earmarked an additional $24 billion for its Steel Dome air and missile defense project, saying the investment is aimed at strengthening one of NATO's most critical capability gaps.

Highlighting Turkiye's role within NATO, Erdogan said the country, which has Europe's largest land army, remains ready to place its military capabilities at the alliance's disposal whenever needed.

He noted that Turkiye is among the leading contributors to NATO operations, missions, and exercises in Kosovo, the Black Sea, the Baltic region, and other areas.

Erdogan also said Turkiye hopes to secure NATO accreditation for its planned Center of Excellence for Countering Unmanned Systems, citing the country's experience in successfully deploying unmanned aerial vehicles on real battlefields.

"I believe this center will bolster our capability to counter threats posed, in particular, by aerial and maritime drones," he added.