Details known: which Bundeswehr troops Scholz is now promising to NATO – there is already a problem
Created: 06/30/2022, 17:57
By: Patrick Mayer
Visiting troops: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) at the beginning of June with the Bundeswehr in Lithuania.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
Chancellor Scholz and Defense Minister Lambrecht fix the Bundeswehr contingent for the NRF rapid reaction force at the NATO summit.
What is the first hurdle.
And what the special feature.
Munich/Madrid - It is the most notable military reaction to the Russia-Ukraine war so far.
The transatlantic defense alliance NATO is expanding its rapid reaction force from 40,000 to around 300,000 soldiers.
This future large association is called the NATO Response Force (NRF).
Right in the middle: the German Bundeswehr.
In response to the Russia-Ukraine war: Germany wants to meet NATO requirements
"We can ensure that we can also provide what we have promised to NATO," said Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) at the Western Military Alliance Summit in Madrid.
She explained in an interview with ZDF: "This also means that we send additional soldiers." The signal is: "We stand by each other and we protect each other."
This Thursday (June 30), her boss, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), followed suit.
The German head of government announced that the promised forces would be deployed as soon as possible.
In the video: Compact - The most important news about the Russia-Ukraine war
But what exactly did his traffic light government promise NATO?
And what is the first challenge?
IPPEN.MEDIA
provides an overview.
The army of the Bundeswehr provides
an armored division with
15,000 soldiers
as part of the NATO Response Force (NRF).
This is probably a third armored division of the army, which the federal government discussed after the Russian attack on Ukraine.
These are likely to include: Leopard 2 main battle tanks, Puma infantry fighting vehicles and heavy artillery of the Panzerhaubitze 2000 type. The division should be in place by 2025.
And fully equipped and not with defects as before, as Lambrecht promised in Madrid.
also read
NATO counters Putin's nuclear threat: Agreed in Elmau, nervous in the Kremlin
Putin's henchman Medvedev draws a red line for NATO - "that's forever"
Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF)
The NRF has what is called a spearhead.
Various member states provide a brigade of up to 5,000 soldiers every year, which can be deployed anywhere in the alliance area within a few days.
In 2023, the Bundeswehr Panzer Grenadier Brigade 37 "Freistaat Sachsen" will be the lead association for the rapid reaction force.
NATO Rapid Reaction Force (NRF): Germany provides 60 aircraft and 20 naval units
The Luftwaffe and the German Navy have
60 aircraft and 20 naval units
permanently ready
as part of the rapid reaction force .
It is not yet known which aircraft are involved, Eurofighter fighter jets and/or transport aircraft.
It is certain that frigates, i.e. smaller warships, will be part of the NRF.
Another indication: Scholz announced the establishment of a regional naval command in the Baltic Sea.
As part of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup
, Germany will provide additional battalion-size units for Lithuania.
This means that the previous troop contingent will be doubled from around 1,100 soldiers.
More than 2,000 Bundeswehr soldiers are then to head a battle group of brigade strength (up to 5,000 soldiers).
So far, the multinational NATO unit in Rukla, Lithuania, has comprised 1,600 soldiers.
Stationed with the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup: German soldiers stand in front of a Bundeswehr Leopard 2 tank in Lithuania.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
Because of the Russia-Ukraine war: NATO soldiers from Battlegroup Lithuania are stationed in Germany
Some of the soldiers of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Lithuania are stationed in Germany
- at least temporarily.
The problem: Lithuania does not yet have the military infrastructure to accommodate so many foreign soldiers and their equipment.
Conversely, the Baltic country undertook to gradually improve said infrastructure.
The Lithuanian head of state Gitanas Nauseda recently said: "Of course, we are interested in seeing as many German troops as possible - and also troops from other countries - stationed here in Lithuania.
We need time, but we are really determined.
There is strong political will and consensus among all political parties in Lithuania to improve our infrastructure as quickly as possible.” According to Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas, around half a billion euros are to be invested in this.
(pm)
