Deterrence and Defence:NATO's New Plan for the Eastern Flank

According to NATO,the Alliance has increased its military presence in the Eastern Flank as a direct result of Russia's behaviour,which reflects a pattern of aggressive actions against its neighbours and the wider transatlantic community.Russia is the most significant and direct threat to Allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.* Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,Allies reinforced the existing Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroups.It was decided to form four more Battlegroups in Bulgaria,Hungary,Romania and Slovakia.This has brought the total number of multinational Battlegroups to eight,and has effectively doubled the number of troops on the ground and extended NATO's forward presence along the Alliance's Eastern Flank,from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.* At the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid,the Allies decided to scale up the multinational Battlegroups from Battalion (US Army 100-1,000 troops under a Lieutenant Colonel) up to a Brigade (US Army 2,000-5,000 Soldiers under a Brigadier General or Colonel) where and when required.This scaling up of rapidly available forces would take place during a crisis and is being practised in drills.* Besides this capability,Allies have sent additional ships,planes and troops to NATO territory in Eastern Europe,further reinforcing the Alliance's Forward Defence and Deterrence Forces.The Battlegroups are not identical;their sizes and compositions are tailored to specific geographical sectors and threats.Forces from contributing nations rotate in and out of the Battlegroups at any given time.They may be deployed to Battlegroups or stationed in their home countries with the ability to deploy rapidly if needed.* All eight Battlegroups are integrated into NATO's command structure to ensure necessary readiness and responsiveness.The rapid reinforcement strategy ensures that Forward Defence and Deterrence Forces will be reinforced by NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF),the broader NATO Response Force (NRF),Allies' additional high-readiness forces and NATO's heavier follow on forces as needed.* Also at the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid,Allies agreed a new NATO Force Model that represents a broader expansion of our higher-readiness forces potentially available to NATO when and where required.The NATO Force Model is still being developed for implementation later in 2023.Further measures to boost NATO's ability to reinforce include developing more pre-positioned equipment and weapon stockpiles;more forward-deployed cacpabilities,including air and missile defence systems;strengthened Command and Control;and upgraded regional defence plans,with specific forces pre-assigned in the defence of specific Allies.The pre-assigned forces will work with in-place forces-both national home defence and Allied forward presence forces-and become familiar with local terrain,facilities and pre-positioned stock so that they can reinforce the Allies even faster.* At the 2023 NATO Vilnius Summit,Allies approved a new generation of regional defence plans,which will significantly improve coherence of NATO's collective defence planning with Allies' national defence planning of their forces,posture,capabilities and Command and Control.The Alliance will continue to ensure that its posture remains credible,coherent and resilient,able to act immediately in response to any aggression.