In the air, on the ground and at sea, NATO has put a bar between itself and Russia. A look at the deployed troops illustrates Europe’s dependence on the United States.
Lithuanian soldiers during a NATO exercise.
NATO speaks its own language from English abbreviations. The current keyword is eFP: Enhanced Forward Presence. Then there is the eAP, Enhanced Air Policing. Hidden behind these terms is the preparation of the North Atlantic alliance in the event of a military aggression by the Kremlin against one of the exposed allies in Eastern Europe.
The Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 triggered this strengthening of the NATO system. This clear breach of international law triggered a rethink at NATO. the collective defense Europe took center stage again. The new NATO member states should be able to fully rely on Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which says: If a NATO country in Europe or North America is attacked, this will be considered an attack on all partners.
The NATO alliance case was only activated once
This alliance happened only once: After the terrorist attacks on September 11 against the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, the NATO countries supported the American military operation in Afghanistan. The focus temporarily shifted to the fight against terror far away.
But war as a means of politics returned to Europe. The Russian aggression against Georgia in 2008 and against Ukraine in 2014 were the most visible signs of a turning point. In secret, always below the threshold of war, the Kremlin also began to attack the Eastern European NATO states: cyber attacks and attempts at destabilization were intended to level the terrain in order to break the western ties of the former Eastern bloc states.
NATO wanted to forestall a Russian coup and reinforced the eastern flank. Since 2017, a NATO battle group of almost 1,000 soldiers from different NATO countries has been standing by in each of the three Baltic states and in Poland to reinforce the local armed forces and deter Russia from military action. These four multinational combat battalions form the core of the NATO defense system or Enhanced Forward Presence.
Basic line-up of the four eFP battlegroups
- Estonia: At the top of the north-east is a British mechanized infantry battalion. The armament includes battle tanks and artillery howitzers, ground anti-aircraft defense and engineering equipment, i.e. clearing tanks, bridge elements or construction machinery.
- Latvia: Canada has taken over the command of the combat group in the middle of the three Baltic States. It basically consists of a Canadian and an Italian infantry company, a Polish tank company and a Slovak artillery battery. Albania, the Czech Republic, Montenegro and Iceland are also part of the eFP combat group Latvia.
- Lithuania: In Lithuania there is a combat group under German leadership. The Bundeswehr provides a strong, mechanized formation with Leopard 2 main battle tanks and Panzerhaubitzen 2000. The hard core is supplemented by a motorized infantry company from Belgium, a mechanized infantry company from the Netherlands and an armored infantry unit from Norway. Smaller contributions are made by Iceland, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg.
- Poland: In contrast to the three Baltic states, Poland has a strong army of its own. Nevertheless, a particularly close cooperation with Washington is manifested through the US-led eFP combat group. In the basic disposition, the American army provides a mechanized formation with a lot of firepower. Croatia operates a rocket launcher battery, Romania provides anti-aircraft weapons, and Great Britain supports the combat group with reconnaissance aircraft, among other things.
These four eFP formations form the nucleus of the NATO ground forces’ defense shield against Russia. As early as the end of 2021, when the Russian units were unstoppably deploying on the Ukrainian border, the NATO troops were gradually being strengthened. First, the nations involved brought additional main battle tanks and self-propelled howitzers to north-eastern Europe relatively discreetly.
Since January of this year, however, ostentatiously strong combat units have been flown in from the USA. The main burden is borne by the American land forces. The American Navy cruises the Mediterranean with the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman. Among other things, the American Air Force flies reconnaissance missions with drones over the Black Sea.
American troops ready to march
Meanwhile, over 100,000 American military personnel are in Europe. Most of them are regularly stationed in Germany, Great Britain, Spain and Italy. To strengthen NATO’s eastern flank, the US Army is consistently implementing what it practiced intensively in May and June 2021: the rapid movement of troops from their American home bases to Germany and from there to northern or southeastern Europe.
The “Defender Europe 21” exercise took place outside the NATO framework and was intended to send a clear signal: The USA is willing and able to put a stop to Russia on the ground – from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. An obvious goal was also to deter the government in Belgrade, a potential ally of Russia in the Western Balkans. The American units pushed past Serbia on the left and right and carried out sharp shooting exercises with all sorts of allies, especially in Kosovo.
The cooperation that has been established with the guest nations will now be implemented in an emergency. At the beginning of February, the American land forces moved parts of the stationed in Germany 2nd Cavalry Regiment to Romania. At the same time, the 82nd Airborne Division began moving combat units from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland. Troops of the 101st Airborne Division and the 3rd Airborne Corps followed until mid-February.
Parts of the 82nd Airborne Division covered the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan in August last year. A third of the association is constantly on a high level of readiness and must be deployed anywhere in the world within 18 hours. Meanwhile, other large formations sent troops to Europe, including the 3rd Infantry Division from Savannah, Georgia.
According to reports in the American trade press, the US European Command made the following statements about the number of American military personnel in Eastern Europe a week ago:
- Baltic States: 2500
- Poland: 10 000
- Slovakia: 1500
- Romania: 2400
The American deployment in Europe is not over. If necessary, additional troops can flow in immediately. Unlike most European armies, the US still has reserves. The Americans bear the brunt of defending Eastern Europe against possible incursions by Russian forces.
France helps on the ground and in the air
Within the EU, only France is able to make a comprehensive contribution to security, albeit on a much smaller scale than the US. According to one Overview of the Ministry of Defense in Paris the French armed forces are deployed as follows:
- Estonia: Reinforcement of the eFP combat groups and support of the eAP with a total of 350 military personnel.
- Poland: Support of the eAP.
- Romania: Reinforcement of the Romanian deployment with 500 soldiers from the Armée de Terre. The ground operation in Romania is the focus of France’s engagement in the current crisis.
- Mediterranean Sea: From the aircraft carrier “Charles de Gaulle” French Rafales support the eAP over Romania and Bulgaria.
Up until now, Italy has been primarily important as a base of operations for the NATO air force. However, in an order from the Italian general staff that was recently leaked to the media, the commanders of all ground forces are instructed to keep the troops’ holidays to a minimum. The associations would have to be one hundred percent ready to march. The training should be geared towards combat missions. It can be assumed that the Italian land forces will form part of the NATO reserve in case more troops are needed in the short term.
On the ground, the eastern flank is well protected. Only Bulgaria is struggling to accept more than the bare minimum of NATO support. Strong forces in the country do not want to upset Russia. Four Spanish Eurofighters are currently stationed in Bulgaria for the eAP, with an additional six Dutch F-35s to follow in April.
What is happening in the air is less clear than on the ground. The fighter jets do not fly the enhanced air policing service with their transponders turned on, so they are not visible. There are indications of the radar images from private providers. For example, the tanker planes are visible. Itamilradar, a private group that monitors flight movements in the Mediterranean, reported on Wednesday that five tankers were in the air.
#NATO assets in flight to eastern Europe#Ukraine #Russia #UkraineWar https://t.co/MaLHJ5fKDs
— Itamilradar (@ItaMilRadar) March 16, 2022
This shows the dimension of current air operations from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea to the eastern Mediterranean. On the one hand, NATO seals off the airspace to the west. No Russian aircraft should enter NATO airspace. On the other hand, the Western planes suck all sorts of information about Russian activities on the ground, in the air and in electromagnetic space.
Technological Superiority
One indication of NATO’s active reconnaissance activities are radar signatures from American drones near the Ukrainian border. The question always arises as to why such flights are suddenly visible to the public. It shouldn’t be a matter of coincidences, but rather a demonstration of power against Moscow. NATO may let the Ukrainian defenders share the information it has obtained about the Russian attackers. But this cannot be proven.
One way or another, the West lets the Kremlin feel its technological superiority. A next step would be the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky, supported by the Estonian Parliament, is calling for such a move. In this case, NATO’s military protective shield would probably have to be further strengthened. In addition to the Italian reserve, additional American troops would be deployed. To this day, they play the leading role in European war theater. The EU and Great Britain have so far remained Washington’s auxiliary troops.