NATO’s Eastern Flank To Be Fortified By U.S.

Biden ordered the deployment of additional American forces after declaring that Russia has invaded Ukraine.

USAF

The Pentagon says it is sending U.S. Air Force F‑35A Joint Strike Fighters, as well as U.S. Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and ground forces, to various locations along NATO’s eastern flank. President Joe Biden announced these deployments, which all involve elements already positioned in Europe, earlier today. He said that these moves were in direct response to the continued presence of thousands of Russian troops in Belarus that, together with other forces arrayed across Russia’s borders with Ukraine, remain poised to attack that country. This also comes after the Kremlin ordered troops into disputed Ukrainian territory yesterday, which Biden said constitutes an invasion, as you can read more about in The War Zone’s earlier coverage of this crisis.As part of these deployments, as many as eight Air Force F‑35As presently in Germany will disperse to “several operating locations along NATO’s eastern flank,” according to a statement from the Pentagon today. A contingent of 20 Army AH-64s in Germany will head to unspecified locations in the Baltic Sea region. Another 12 Apaches currently in Greece are set to relocate to Poland. Lastly, an Army infantry battalion task force consisting of approximately 800 personnel will deploy from Italy to the Baltic Sea region.

“These additional forces are being repositioned to reassure our NATO allies, deter any potential aggression, and train with host-nation forces,” the Pentagon’s statement said. “These moves are temporary in nature, and are part of the more than 90,000 U.S. troops already in Europe on rotational and permanent orders.“The Pentagon did not say specifically what units would be providing these forces. 

With regards to the F‑35As, the Air Force does not have any of these jets permanently deployed in Germany. Aviation Week’s Brian Everstine has reported that these aircraft are from the 34th Fighter Squadron based at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. A contingent of Joint Strike Fighters from Hill arrived at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany last week. That force included pilots and other personnel from the 388th Fighter Wing, an active-duty unit to which the 34th Fighter Squadron is assigned, and the Air Force Reserve’s 419th Fighter Wing, both based at Hill.

F‑35A Joint Strike Fighters from Hill Air Force Base arrive at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany on February 16, 2022.

In addition to simply providing NATO with additio …

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