We are NATO, the strongest military Alliance in history. The Russian violence against Ukraine presents a threat to the Euro-Atlantic security, therefore NATO has in unity activated the defence plans and strengthened the eastern flank of the Alliance with additional considerable capabilities. NATO allies not only deter but also are ready to fight for every inch of the Alliance territory, and therefore military presence of NATO allies on the ground in Lithuania is the key secularity guarantor. Lithuania currently hosts the following NATO capabilities:
The NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group (eFP BG) is based at Rukla. Led by the framework nation Germany, the battalion-sized Battle Group has been manned by approx. 15 thousand military personnel with nearly 6000 tactical vehicles on a rotational basis over the five years of its existence. At the moment, the NATO eFP BG is formed by Belgians, Czechs, Luxembourgers, Dutch and Norwegians. Germany and Norway also have added more capabilities to the current NATO eFP Battle Group composition. NATO eFP Battle Groups are deployed in each of the Baltic states and in Poland.
The NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states is led and Baltic airspace security is ensured by the Polish Air Force Detachment with F-16s from Šiauliai, while the augmentation operating F-16s was sent by Belgium and patrols the Baltic airspace from Amari military airbase in Estonia. The mission flown from Šiauliai is enhanced by Denmark with F-16 fighter aircraft and the United States also reinforced the capabilities at Lithuania and Estonia with 5th generation F-35 fighter aircraft. The United Kingdom, in its turn, deployed CH-47 and AH-64 helicopters to Šiauliai.
A rotational U.S. heavy battalion with Abrams tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles is deployed at Pabradė. It is the fourth consecutive rotation of a U.S. battalion in Lithuania, the current rotation has also been extended due to the security situation developments, and additional U.S capabilities will be deployed to Lithuania shortly as well. The mechanized battalion regularly trains in Lithuania on a rotational basis and thus increases interoperability with Lithuanian and NATO forces. The United Forces has forces in Latvia at the moment as well: a U.S. infantry battalion has been deployed to Adazi military base just recently.
For the first time in history, the NATO Response Force has been activated by consensus of NATO allies in order to strengthen the security of the eastern flank of the Alliance. It is a high-readiness multinational force prepared to respond on short notice anytime to any kind of a security crisis. The force comprises land, air, maritime and social operations components held on high readiness to respond potential threats. If a crisis breaks out, the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) can be activate as well. Deployment of the force would be facilitated by the NATO Force Integration Unit Vilnius manned by representatives from 13 NATO allies.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces constantly trains with NATO allies in joint exercise thus increasing interoperability of their militaries and readiness to defend against any threats. We are strong together.
