Studie des Think-Tanks »European Leadership Network« zu Militärmanövern von Nato und Russland, 12.8.2015 (engl. Originalfassung)
Over the last 18 months, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the relationship between Russia and the West has deteriorated considerably. One aspect of the confrontation, as previously documented by the European Leadership Network, has been a game of Russian-instigated dangerous brinkmanship which has resulted in many serious close military encounters between the military forces of Russia and NATO and its partners over the last 15 months. Another aspect, however, and the subject of this policy brief, has been the increased scope and size of the military exercises conducted by both Russia and by NATO and its partners in the Euro-Atlantic area since the Ukraine crisis began.
To assist the public and wider policy community in understanding the realities of this new and dangerous security environment in Europe, the European Leadership Network has prepared two interactive maps presenting in detail the anatomy of two recent, large scale military exercises. Those interactive maps should be viewed alongside a reading of this brief. The two exercises profiled are:
A Russian »snap exercise« conducted in March 2015, which brought together 80,000 military personnel. This began as an operation in the High North centred principally on the Northern Fleet. The exercise was quickly expanded to encompass the entirety of the Russian Federation, drawing in units from four Russian Military Districts. The scale of this exercise and its geographical distribution means it could only have been a simulated war with US-led NATO. For an overview of exercise locations
The NATO »Allied Shield« exercise conducted in June 2015, which brought under one framework four distinct exercises taking place along the Eastern flank of the Alliance, totalling 15,000 personnel from 19 Members states and three partner states. These exercises included a major naval exercise in the Baltic Sea, amphibious assault operations in Sweden and Poland, and armoured manoeuvres and other conventional force engagements involving US strategic aviation in the Baltic States and Poland. Allied Shield also saw the first field deployment of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) designed to provide a response to low-level incursions into allied territory. This activity was clearly intended to simulate the kinds of operations NATO forces would need to engage in, in the context of a military crisis or confrontation with Russia somewhere in the Baltic region. For an overview of exercise locations
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