NATO Chiefs of Defence convene virtual meeting to discuss summit deliverables
On 24 April 2023, the Allied Chiefs of Defence and Invitee Sweden held a virtual meeting of the NATO Military Committee to discuss the ongoing work on military planning for collective defence.
In response to the pattern of increasingly aggressive behaviour from Russia, the Alliance renewed its focus on collective defence. This led to the creation of:
- the NATO Military Strategy in 2019;
- the Concept for the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA) in 2020;
- the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept (NWCC) in 2021.
At the 2022 Madrid Summit, Allies agreed to accelerate the process of implementing the ‘deter and defend’ strategy DDA. The NATO Military Authorities are developing geographically specific plans that describe how the Alliance will defend and deter against the two threats that are listed in the NATO Strategic Concept 2022: Russia and Terrorist Groups. These plans will require a New Force Structure - the number and types of equipment and organisations required to conduct the geographically specific plans across all domains - as well as strengthened command and control arrangements. In addition, Allies are working on implementing the agreed NATO Force Model, in order to produce more ready forces on a standing basis.
Implementation of the ‘deter and defend’ strategy means that NATO and national military plans will be integrated more closely than ever before.
The Chiefs of Defence will convene in person at NATO HQ in Brussels on 10th May 2023 for the next NATO Military Committee meeting.