Nicolai Haugsted
NATO details how it would fight back if Russia launches attack on member state.
NATO military planners have developed a new framework for defending alliance territory against a potential Russian attack, with the strategy extending beyond simply confronting invading forces at the border.
German newspaper BILD reports that the approach focuses on stopping an initial assault, creating a heavily defended buffer area and disrupting the military infrastructure supporting further Russian operations.
Known as the NATO Land Warfighting Concept, the framework is designed around defending allied territory rather than occupying Russia. Details have emerged amid heightened concern about security along NATO’s eastern flank and Russia’s military capabilities.
NATO prepares for first wave of attack
Military planners are considering how the alliance could respond if Russian forces launched missiles and drones against a Baltic member before advancing with ground forces.
NATO’s initial priority would be to suppress those attacks and halt the invading troops. Fighter aircraft, missiles and drones could be deployed against Russian systems responsible for launching strikes against alliance territory.
Technology would play a central role in detecting incursions earlier. Large networks of sensors and shared battlefield data are intended to give commanders a faster picture of movements along NATO’s borders.
According to a US defense official quoted by BILD, planning behind the concept has involved personnel from across the alliance.
“EFDI is not the product of a single author, but rather NATO’s transformative concept for deterrence through prevention on land,” the official said.
“It is the result of months of development work by planners from across the alliance.”
Specific descriptions of operations that could take place during an actual conflict remain hypothetical, however. The official stressed that individual scenarios should not be treated as confirmed operational plans from NATO or US Army Europe and Africa.
Unmanned barrier along eastern border
Another element involves establishing what has been described as an “autonomous zone” along parts of the border with Russia and Belarus.
Regular NATO troops would not necessarily be permanently positioned throughout that area. Instead, drones and unmanned military vehicles could be used to detect and stop hostile forces attempting to move through it.
Such technology could allow the alliance to maintain a defensive barrier while reducing the number of soldiers directly exposed along particularly vulnerable sections of the frontier.
NATO’s stated objective would remain limited to driving invading Russian forces out of alliance territory and back across the border rather than pursuing a territorial conquest of Russia.
Defending NATO territory would not necessarily mean keeping military action within NATO borders.
According to the reported concept, targets supporting an invasion could be struck inside Russia. Military airfields, weapons-production facilities, bridges, railway infrastructure and supply bases are among the types of sites that could potentially be targeted.
Such operations would seek to disrupt Russia’s ability to move troops, ammunition and equipment toward the battlefield, limiting its capacity to launch additional waves of attacks.
Plans reportedly also contemplate an “air bridge” that could transport drones closer to Russian territory for operations against military bases and airfields.
Baltic region under close scrutiny
Publication of the details comes as military activity around the Baltic Sea receives increased attention.
Russia has reportedly deployed a heavily armed warship near a German island. According to The Telegraph, the vessel carries cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons.
Separate reports have raised concerns about Russian facilities near Ukraine that could produce advanced attack drones capable of reaching targets deeper inside NATO territory.
A recent US intelligence assessment has also reportedly considered the possibility that Moscow could test NATO’s collective-defense commitment through a limited attack against Poland or one of the Baltic states.
NATO planners appear to regard transparency as part of the deterrence strategy itself. According to the reporting, military officials believe Moscow should understand that an attack on alliance territory could trigger not only defensive operations at the border but also strikes against the infrastructure sustaining Russian forces.
