NATO’s “Brilliant Jump” exercise prepares Poland

Today, NATO has begun to ship hundreds of items of military equipment to the northwestern Polish port in Szczecin, located on the North Sea. The equipment embarked in Spain in what NATO is calling a “major test” regarding their reaction force. Along with the military items, 1500 NATO troops will be participating in the testing. NATO will also conduct the exercise with additional equipment and soldiers from fellow member-allies: Britain, Albania, and Poland.

“Brilliant Jump,” the name given to the exercise, specifically focuses on testing the alliance’s capacity to relocate military forces wherever it faces a threat and will continue until May 27th.

In regard to “Brilliant Jump,” Lt. General Manfred Hofmann, a former leader in the German Bundeswehr, and current commander of NATO’s coveted Multinational Corps Northeast, said that the exercise would prove that NATO is prepared to defend its allies in the region. This preparation, a likely result after Poland raised concerns over Russia’s aggressive behavior in the region.

NATO initiatives in the last two years have drastically increased following the Crimean annexation by Russia. NATO has specifically initiated a boost in Air Policing, a mission meant to “detect, track and identify all violations and infringements of its airspace and to take appropriate action.” The military alliance most notably claims this policy has led to the interception of Russian aircraft by allied F-16s.

Last week, NATO announced the finalization of their ten-year long plan to install European ground to air defense systems. Russia views the newly implemented missile defense system as an extension of NATO policing in the region, and has outlined the system as a threat to its own security. Russia claims that the defense system breaches a 1987 agreement signed with the US, which stipulates the signing parties eliminate all offensive intermediate and short-range missile systems after 18 months of the signing. These systems are defined in the treaty and include ground-launch based ballistic missiles, which the NATO system is intended to defend against.

Regardless of the accusations, Russia has been extremely provocative with NATO allies in the last year. The country has frequently committed violations of NATO airspace, and in some instances had to have their planes shot out of the sky, as occurred in Turkey in November.

The Telegraph mapped out the suspected number of Russian incursions into NATO airspace between September of 2014 and May 15th of last year. They listed fifteen incursions during the seven and a half month period, which explains Poland’s concerns regarding Russian interventionism.

Following “Brilliant Jump”, NATO troops will take part in the largest military exercise in Poland since 1989, named “Anaconda-16.” Around 30,000 troops will be involved, and the exercise is likely intended to quell Polish concerns and increase security along Europe’s Eastern border. Yet, Poland may still remain underwhelmed by security measures being taken.

In July, Poland may seek to further ensure their security at the NATO Summit in Warsaw. There, members will attempt to introduce new policy, launch major initiatives, or reinforce partnerships as threats around allied countries appear to grow. Perspective policies could even include a request of a permanent presence of US troops on Polish soil, if security threats continue to grow.