First President Donald Trump dropped the Midnight Hammer on Irans nuclear program, courtesy of the B-2 bombers. Then, four days later Trump dropped the hammer on NATO. With threats, charm and the momentum of victory, Trump pushed NATOs European allies to pledge to spend 5% of their GDP on defense the single biggest jump since 1949. President Trump achieved "something NO American president in decades could get done," said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.Every American President since Dwight D. Eisenhower has urged NATO to invest more in collective defense, that "wall of security" as Eisenhower called it. Trumps actually done it.Heres the catch. For all the exuberance, Trumps success at The Hague last week wont amount to a hill of beans unless his administration speeds up U.S. arms production. Sure, the NATO moment was historic, but the stakes are high. Russia is rearming and China would love nothing more than to overstretch U.S. forces and gain an edge in the Pacific.NATO LEADER PRAISES TRUMP FOR 'DECISIVE ACTION' ON IRANTake a look at Russia. Putin is cranking out 1,500 tanks, 3,000 armored vehicles, and 200 Iskander ballistic and cruise missiles per year, NATOs Supreme Allied Commander General Christopher Cavoli, United States Army, told Congress this spring. In Ukraine, Russia has "lost an estimated 3,000 tanks, 9,000 armored vehicles, 13,000 artillery systems, and over 400 air defense systems in the past yearbut is on pace to replace them all," said Cavoli. In contrast, Cavoli pointed out, the U.S. "only produces about 135 tanks per year." On top of that, Russia produces 250,000 artillery shells per month. Yes, per month.Despite this, NATO was adrift. In 2014, the European allies spent an average of 1.43% of GDP on defense. Last year it was just 2.02%. There were exceptions. Rock star Poland soared from 2.7% of GDP in 2022 to 4.7% in 2025. Germany allocated a one-off extra $100 billion to replace obsolete equipment. But the alliance as a whole had yet to act.You can see why Trump had to shake the foundations of the alliance, going so far as to threaten the Article 5 bond where an attack on one member is an attack on all.It all turned out well. "I left here saying, These people really love their countries. Its not a rip-off. And we are here to help them protect their country," Trump commented after the NATO meeting.Spurring NATO will only work if Trumps team also takes these three steps.Speed up the newest Abrams tanks.Trump saved the Abrams tanks from virtual extinction during his first term. The Armys newest M1E3 version is lighter, and modified for the lessons of Ukraine, including advanced sensors, autonomy and modular armor is designed to protect against top-attack threats from drones. "We are going have armor on the modern battlefield," Army Chief of Staff General Randy George said in a recent podcast interview and George is speeding up delivery of new Abrams tanks. Why? Tanks backed up by airpower can deter a Russian dash at the 60-mile Suwalki gap near Poland and Lithuania, sometimes called the "most dangerous place on earth" because if the Russians closed it, they could cut off the Baltics and propel NATO to war.Fix the Patriot shortage.Given Russias penchant for lobbing missiles at cities, Patriots are essential to holding the alliance together against Putins provocations. Patriot air defense batteries have shot down Russian Kinzhal Kh47M2 hypersonic missiles. They are so popular that Norway and Sweden are chipping in to pay for Romanias new Patriots, and President Volodymr Zelensky asked to buy 10 Patriot batteries for Ukraine. The problem is Patriot batteries are scarce. The Netherlands gave theirs to Ukraine, and that NATO ally is still awaiting backfill. Remember the two U.S. Patriot batteries that launched "a bunch" of hit-to-kill interceptors to defend Al Udeid Air Base were actually pulled from their normal locations in Japan and South Korea, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Daniel Caine.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINIONSlice through the arms export bureaucracy.Its shocking that so many U.S. allies are waiting for arms deliveries. The leisurely foreign military sales process traipses through the Pentagon, State Department, Commerce and probably hops on the Old Town Trolley DC tour bus before weapons systems actually move overseas. Wait times can stretch out years. (Just ask Taiwan.) NATO will never get the equipment it needs unless Trump cleans up the morass of arms export bureaucracy holding back deliveries to frontline NATO allies like Poland. So, get going on some Executive Orders, ASAP.American leadership is back, and NATO leaders lapped it up. For NATO leaders, the presidency of Joe Biden was not a strategic asset. You could see something close to exuberance from NATO Secretary General Rutte as he welcomed Trump. London and other NATO capitals have been in range of Irans ballistic missiles for years, and the allies were thrilled with Trumps decision to take out the nuclear menace.U.S. armor, airpower and command and control are still the beating heart of NATOs military power. Surging NATO to 5% is the only way to keep U.S. forces flexible enough to deter the global menace that is the China-Russia axis.