NATO needs to significantly strengthen its defense capabilities - increase the number of combat brigades from 82 to 131, create new corps and divisions, the number of which should increase from 24 to 38, and this is only to meet the minimum requirements, writes Welt.
It is also important to create a ground component of air defense almost from scratch. The number of air defense units should increase from 293 to 1467. The number of helicopter units should also be increased from 90 to 104, and logistics and transport capabilities should be strengthened. These requirements for NATO member countries were approved at the headquarters of the combined forces of the Alliance and signed by the Supreme Commander of NATO in Europe, Christopher J. Cavoli, and the head of the command for transformation, Pierre Vandieu.
As Defense Express writes, such a large-scale task demonstrates the extent to which the issue of collective security has turned into collective irresponsibility within NATO. It is about the need to increase forces by more than 1,5 times.
If we break down this task into specific steps, then the expansion of the ground forces to 49 brigades, each of which consists of 5 soldiers, will require an additional 245 soldiers, as well as thousands of weapons. For comparison, the ground forces of the Bundeswehr consist of 62 thousand, that is, NATO actually lacks four more armies of Germany. French ground forces number 114, while the US Army has 453 troops.
If we take the German approach to arming the ground forces, NATO needs about 1200 tanks, 2700 infantry fighting vehicles, more than 3000 armored personnel carriers and 900 large-caliber artillery systems. According to the American approach, the numbers are similar: 1300 tanks, 2300 BMPs, 5000 armored personnel carriers and more than 1200 artillery systems.
In addition, it is necessary to restore ground-based air defenses, which were significantly reduced after the end of the Cold War, especially in the European segment of NATO. For example, the United Kingdom until 2021 used outdated Rapier air defense systems, capable of hitting targets at a distance of only 8 km. Germany decommissioned all medium-range air defense systems in 2005, spending 1,23 billion euros and five years on the development of the NNbS air defense system.
The implementation of these requirements, as stated in NATO documents, requires not only significant financial resources exceeding 2% of GDP, but also significant time costs.
NATO is preparing for war against Russia: the latest news
As he wrote, NATO is gradually preparing for a possible war against Russia. Thus, at the end of September it became known that the Alliance was making plans for the mass evacuation of the wounded. NATO understands that they will not be able to freely use medical aviation, as in Iraq or Afghanistan, in a war with the Russian Federation.
We also told that NATO is working on scenarios for launching a war against Russia. In particular, one of the scenarios predicts that after the new mobilization, Russia will reject the Armed Forces on the front in Ukraine and then start aggression against NATO.