The UK has announced an increased contribution to NATO as the
Prime Minister and Defence Secretary attend the NATO summit in
Madrid.
Defence Secretary MP said:
We have always been clear that our strength and security comes
from our alliances, and NATO is at the heart of that.
The New Force Model and our presence in Estonia will ensure that
the Alliance is able to respond at pace, helping to determine
stability across Europe in the decades to come.
RAF Typhoon and F-35B Lightning fighter jets, Royal Navy vessels
including Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, and
brigade-sized land forces will all be made available to NATO’s
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) as part of the New Force
Model.
NATO has introduced the New Force Model in support of Leaders’
decision to modernise and strengthen the NATO Force Structure for
the future. Allies will declare capabilities, equipment and
forces available to support SACEUR, ensuring they are in the
right place at the right time. This will allow the Alliance’s
military command to plan for emerging threats, safe in the
knowledge that these assets will be available to take part in the
Alliance’s response.
The UK will also contribute to the new Allied Reaction Force: an
agile, multi-domain and combat-effective force ready to deploy at
very high readiness and to respond to a range of crises.
It comes as the Alliance has agreed a new posture of stronger
forward defences to reflect the radically changed security
context since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK increased its
presence in Estonia to include the temporary deployment of a
second battlegroup, doubling the total number of deployed
personnel to over 1,600. The lethality of these deployments will
be enhanced with advanced capabilities including helicopters and
artillery systems. Meanwhile, the UK’s existing HQ in Tallinn
will be expanded. Led by a Brigadier, it will support the rapid
deployment of high readiness forces at the brigade level.
The UK will also support Estonia with training and logistics, the
development of its first divisional-level HQ, as well as
developing new ways of fighting through their joint hosting of
the Defence
Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic European
HQ, and supporting innovative dual use start-ups through the NATO
Innovation Fund.
In addition to increasing its deployments to Estonia, since the
Russian invasion the UK has also deployed hundreds of troops to
Poland and sent more aircraft to conduct air policing in Romania.
Meanwhile, HMS Prince of Wales has led the
Alliance’s Maritime High Readiness Force since January
2022.
