from the above quote it looks like that by being part of NATO a country can buy a tank from the US with no VAT, while they end up paying VAT if they buy a tank

from the above quote it looks like that by being part of NATO a country can buy a tank from the US with no VAT, while they end up paying VAT if they buy a tank from a EU member... with the VAT exemption they fill the gap a big saving to be part of NATO, eh?