NATO MUltimedia

NATO stands ready to protect every inch of our territory. Allies agreed to scale-up NATO battlegroups in size if and when required.

To better defend its eastern border, NATO is practicing the rapid deployment of combat-ready troops and strengthening its ability to quickly scale up battlegroups from battalion to a larger brigade size formation where and when required.

Exercise Griffin Shock was the first such test, with the US Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment deploying temporarily to Battlegroup Poland in May 2023. The additional troops, armoured vehicles and artillery turned the battalion-sized battlegroup into a brigade of several thousand soldiers, all commanded by NATO’s Multinational Division North East. The United Kingdom and Germany conducted similar exercises, which took place in Estonia and Lithuania respectively in the following weeks.

This training exercise also supported NATO's new defence plans, which were agreed at the 2023 Vilnius Summit to enhance the Alliance’s ability to keep its territory and citizens safe.


NATO has eight battlegroups, which are located in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Each battlegroup is made up of contributing nations that serve, train and exercise together. The battlegroups are not identical; their size and compositions are tailored to specific geographic factors and threats. The forward presence of Allied forces in the eastern part of the Alliance is a tangible reminder that an attack on one NATO Ally is an attack on all.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – LT COL MARCO MAULBECKER, Former Commander, NATO Multinational Battlegroup Lithuania

“We are combat ready.
We can deter

and if deterrence fails,
we are ready to fight.”

FOLLOWING RUSSIA’S
BRUTAL INVASION
OF UKRAINE

ALLIES DECIDED

NATO MUST BE ABLE
TO QUICKLY SCALE UP
ITS FORCES

IN THE EAST
OF THE ALLIANCE

TURNING THEM
INTO BRIGADES

BY ADDING
MORE FORCES

AND MORE
DEFENSIVE FIREPOWER

TO KEEP OUR
PEOPLE SAFE

--SOUNDBITE—(ENGLISH) US Army Major Ryan Mannina, Operations Officer, 2nd Cavalry Regiment

‘This is part of an effort to demonstrate proof of concept for how we can do that on a rotational or temporary basis.

NATO STANDS
READY TO
REINFORCE THE
EASTERN PART OF
THE ALLIANCE

AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE

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