As part of its long-term defense and deterrence position, which began after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and accelerated after its attack on Ukraine, NATO prepared “regional military plans” to be approved by the leaders at the NATO Summit in Vilnius.
After the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, NATO perceived Russia and terrorist groups as a threat in 2018 and changed its defense plans.
In 2019, a new NATO military strategy was created, revealing what can be done for deterrence and defense of the Euro-Atlantic region in 2020. In 2021, the comprehensive combat concept was developed, taking into account factors such as demographic and technological changes.
Then NATO’s regional plans were created. Regional plans, which consist of detailed and comprehensive studies, only cover regions within NATO borders. These secret plans were created for three regions.
The first of these is the Atlantic and northern Europe under the leadership of the NATO Joint Force Command in Norfolk, USA, the second is the Central European region extending from the Baltics to the Alps under the responsibility of the NATO base in Brunsum, the Netherlands, and the third is NATO in Naples, Italy. It includes the region from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea under the responsibility of the base.
The plans determine when, how and when NATO forces will be deployed in land, sea, air, space and cyberspace in these regions, and how to act in case of threat.
Within the plans, NATO aims to transfer a force of approximately 300,000 soldiers to the eastern flank within a maximum of 30 days.
NATO’s regional plans are aimed to be adopted at the NATO Summit to be held in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on 11-12 July.
IT WILL TAKE YEARS TO IMPLEMENT THE PLANS
NATO officials draw attention to many factors such as the implementation of regional plans, the holding of exercises within the plans to reach a high level of readiness of the forces, and the purchase of materials that the forces will need.
Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, told reporters at NATO headquarters, “All this will take time. This is not a sudden change. It will take years to reach this point.” said.
Bauer underlined that NATO member countries should make defense investments in order to implement the prepared plans. Pointing out the importance of defense expenditures being at least 2 percent of the gross national product, Bauer emphasized that the defense industry production should also increase.
40 THOUSAND SOLDIERS UNDER NATO COMMAND
While preparing its regional plans, NATO also developed its current defense and deterrence position since February 2022, when Russia’s attack on Ukraine began.
In this context, NATO, which has increased its presence in the eastern flank of the alliance, has increased the number of its forces and the level of readiness of these forces in the region from the Baltic region to the Black Sea. At the same time, the number of NATO forces in the air and at sea was increased.
Currently, NATO has a land force of 40 thousand people, in addition to this, around 100 warplanes flying every day, and 27 warships in the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean.
“WE SHOULD NOT UNDERSTAND RUSSIA”
NATO’s military officials stated that Russia’s ground forces, in particular, lost power due to the implications of the war in Ukraine, but maintained its strength in the air and at sea.
Head of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, stated that 90 percent of Russia’s ground forces, in particular, are involved in the war in Ukraine in some way.
Noting that the Russian forces are being careful around the NATO region, however, Bauer said, “The Russians are not looking for a conflict with NATO. This is a sign that they are very busy.” said.
Expressing that they think the Russian army will be restructured, Bauer said, “They will learn from the war. Therefore, we will continue to see the Russians as a serious threat in space. They still have capabilities, especially at sea, in the air and in space.” made its assessment.
“We should never underestimate the Russians and their ability to regroup, as they have shown several times in history.” Bauer said that Russia needs a few years to recover and that NATO can use this time to implement its regional plans. (AA)