Brussels, 18 January 2024 (MIA) - NATO is stronger and readier than it has ever been. Together, we have made immense strides in our collective defence. But we want and need to do more, in order to deter and defend any potential threat, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, told a press conference after the two-day Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session.

   

He pointed out that Allies are now actively working to maximise the executability of the new defence plans in order to execute them with a minimum amount of risk.

 

According to him, this requires a whole-of-society approach, more societal resilience, more energy independence, resilient infrastructure. 

 

"And across the board, but especially for a key topic such as Integrated Air and Missile Defence, we need a fundamentally new approach to public-private cooperation in the defence industry," Bauer added.  

 

He noted that in the run up to the NATO summit in Washington this year, NATO is actively looking for ways to strengthen and deepen its partnerships in the southern neighbourhood, which is why today the NATO Chiefs of Defence conducted a meeting with their counterparts from the Partner Interoperability Advocacy Group being Australia, Austria, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland, as well as a dedicated session with NATO’s Indo-Pacific Partners being Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea, discussing ways to create more and better military cooperation.

 

 

"When it comes to security, there is no such thing as local. All security is connected. And that made it all the more valuable to talk to our Partners face to face on developments that concern us all. We have years, sometimes decades, of cooperation to build on, ranging from information exchange, military education and training to operating side by side in NATO missions and operations. Meeting with our Partners reminds us that none of us stand-alone in the face of challenges or threats. As long as you have Partners, you have better solutions," Bauer stressed.

 

He mentioned that members of the Military Committee were briefed by the Ukrainian Military Representative to NATO, Major General Salkutsan – on behalf of Ukrainian Chief of Defence General Zalushnyy. 

 

"There is intense fighting going on. And while Russia’s most recent attacks are devastating, they are not militarily effective. At the same time, we see substantial military successes on the Ukrainian side. While the world may have been overly optimistic in 2023, it is important that in 2024 we don’t become overly pessimistic. Today is the 694th (!) day of what Russia thought would be a 3-day war. Ukraine has prevailed as a sovereign independent nation in Europe. They are closer to the Euro-Atlantic family than ever," said Bauer. 

 

 

He added that heavy losses have been inflicted to Russia, and the Ukrainians have been able to liberate significant parts of their territory.  

 

"All military leaders around the table affirmed their strong commitment to helping our Ukrainian brothers and sisters defend themselves. This is not charity. Support to Ukraine is a direct investment in our own security. The only way to get a lasting, negotiated solution is to strengthen the Ukrainian position on the battlefield," Bauer pointed out.  

 

Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Christopher Cavoli said NATO has the strategy and the plans to make the Alliance fit for the purpose of collective territorial defence. 

 

 

On that note, he announced the kick-off of Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024 commencing next week and running through May. 

 

"Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024 will be the largest NATO exercise in decades, with participation from approximately 90,000 forces from all 31 Allies and our good partner Sweden. The Alliance will demonstrate its ability to reinforce the Euro-Atlantic area via trans-Atlantic movement of forces from North America. This reinforcement will occur during a simulated emerging conflict scenario against a near-peer adversary. Steadfast Defender 2024 will be a clear demonstration of our unity, strength, and determination to protect each other, our values and the rules based international order," said Cavoli.  

 

He also provided an update on the Allied Reaction Force (ARF), as a critical component of the new force model which supports NATO's plans, it is capable of carrying out a full spectrum of missions and serves as a rapid deployable strategic reserve. 

 

"In the fall of last year, NATO rapid deployment corps – Italy was selected as the Interim Headquarters for the ARF. They are currently training, exercising, and rehearsing in preparation for their new role. They are on track to receive validation as the Interim ARF Headquarters following exercise Steadfast deterrence in May," Cavoli said. 

 

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, General Chris Badia, pointed out that NATO must be prepared to cope with all possible challenges it faces or might face. 

 

 

"We as an Alliance with all it‘s nations need to be sure to be more agile and be more flexible and we do this through our agreed transformational pass. As the warfighting of tomorrow becomes more complex in a multi domain we need to ensure that we are in every aspect faster and better than our competitors," said Badia.

 

According to him, this goes with nations transformation and it is a perpetuous journey, not a one-time event.

 

"Our war transformation journey pushes boundaries, forging a collective edge in order to become better every day. We do this through multi-domain integrated operations, which means seamless warfare across sea, land and air," Badia noted.

 

In addition, Badia stressed increased cooperation with non-military actors, synchronizing military and non-military effects, converging effects and last not but least all the integration, fully embracing cyber and space as operational domains.

 

According to Badia, the precondition to transform into multi-domain enabled Alliance is digital transformation, and in short, NATO is transforming from a platform-centric force into a data-centric force.

 

"Transformation is not a luxury for NATO, it's a necessity and we are very well prepared for that," Badia pointed out. 

 

Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski participated in the NATO Military Committee's regular conference. In addition to taking part in the sessions, Gjurchinovski held meetings with counterparts, discussing topics of mutual bilateral interest in the area of defence. 

 

Photo: NATO