NATO confirms plans for US military storage in Poland
NATO on 23 March 2019 confirmed it plans a storage facility for US military equipment in Poland, as the alliance steps up its defences in the face of increased Russian assertiveness. The Wall Street Journal reported that the $260 million facility will be located in Powidz, some 200 km (120 miles) west of Warsaw, and will house armoured vehicles, ammunition and weapons for a brigade.
Building work will start later this year and is expected to take two years, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told the Journal. A NATO official confirmed the report was accurate.
NATO has increased defences along its eastern flank in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its role in the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Battlegroups have been deployed in the three Baltic states as well as Poland and NATO has launched an overhaul of its command structure and is taking steps to improve how quickly it can move troops and equipment around Europe in case of incursion. The practice of ‘pre-positioning’ equipment in strategic locations is also aimed at making it easier to deploy resources quickly in a crisis.
Stoltenberg told the Journal the new facility would ‘underpin the increased US presence in Poland’. Poland’s government has been beefing up its military ties with the US, agreeing in February to buy American mobile rocket launchers worth $414 million and a year ago signing a $4.75 billion contract for a US-made Patriot anti-missile system.
Warsaw has also been pushing for the US to open a permanent military base. Nearly 5,000 American troops are already stationed on a rotational basis as part of NATO operations.
More from Defence Notes
-
![“Engage with the operational problem”: how software innovation can boost UK defence]()
“Engage with the operational problem”: how software innovation can boost UK defence
In Conversation… Shephard’s Andrew White talks to Zafer Şen, CEO and co-founder of OBSS, about the future of command-and-control software in the age of artificial intelligence, and his company’s ambitions in the UK defence market.
-
![“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money]()
“Capital follows confidence” as defence courts private money
Outside investment and the direction in which venture money flows may reveal what defence will buy years before formal programmes begin.
-
![Canada’s new military drone marketplace targets rapid acquisition pipeline]()
Canada’s new military drone marketplace targets rapid acquisition pipeline
The Department of National Defence expects initial contracts to deliver thousands of uncrewed systems, but has yet to establish the quantities, capability mix or deadline behind Ottawa’s promised tenfold expansion.
-
![Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons]()
Ukraine turns legacy Kongsberg land turrets into semi-autonomous USV weapons
The company told Shephard that Ukraine is operating modified Protector weapon stations originally supplied for armoured vehicles, with human operators authorising engagements from hundreds of kilometres away.
-
![UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour]()
UK urged to prioritise sea, air and space over heavy armour
A report from the Council on Geostrategy argues the UK should move away from a traditional balanced force and shift investment to naval, air and space capabilities, backed by a larger fleet of attack submarines and deeper AUKUS integration.
