Russia Ukraine War Sparks NATO to Strengthen its Forces and Modernize Deployment Strategy

Video Above: With MLRS Systems, Ukrainians Could Destroy Russian Launchers

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has shaken the foundation of European security to its core and generated a host of sweeping future plans to expand, strengthen and improve NATO moving into the future.

Russia Ukraine | NATO Response

In close coordination with European members, the Pentagon will pre-position equipment, pursue “scalable” forward formations, streamline multi-national command and control and emphasize rapid deployment ability to respond to future contingencies. It is increasingly becoming clear that tomorrow’s NATO will be quite different in scope and tactical ability.

“NATO is also making plans to strengthen its deterrence and defense posture for the longer-term, especially along the eastern flank,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, Belgium.

The particular configuration of NATO’s forward posture in coming years has yet to be determined and will likely be a large focus of upcoming discussions at a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain. However, it would be entirely reasonable to expect that the alliance’s forward footprint will expand as well, with a special emphasis upon rapid deployment. Austin said elements of NATO’s Response Force have already been deployed.

“Our Allies have activated NATO’s defense plans. They’ve deployed elements of the NATO Response Force and they’ve placed tens of thousands of troops in the eastern areas of the Alliance, along with significant air and naval assets under the direct command of NATO and supported by Allies’ national deployments,” Austin said.