Estonia’s key contributions to the Alliance, NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group, Cyber and the role of Allied Command Transformation in the Warfare development area were the themes at the heart of General Lanata’s visit to Estonia, February 11th-12th, 2021.
The Estonian Military Intelligence Centre provided a snapshot of the regional security status, Estonia’s key contributions and commitments to the Alliance – NATO air policing mission, Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group, NATO Force integration unit and the ongoing assistance during the current COVID pandemic, to name a few.
Meeting with commanders of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group and the NATO Force Integration Unit, General Lanata underlined the importance of NATO’s agility today, stressing that NATO Force Integration Unit and NATO Enhanced Forward Presence are key elements of this agility.
Throughout his visit to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and NATO’s “Cyber Range 14”, General Lanata explained the evolving and challenging cyber threat for the Alliance, thanking Estonian national authorities for their role as the framework nation for the Centre and highlighting Estonia’s major European role on information technology, cyber, and training. Operated by the Estonian Defence Forces, NATO’s Cyber Range is a platform for NATO exercises and training that also facilitates NATO’s flagship annual cyber defence exercise, the “Cyber Coalition”. Allied Command Transformation develops all cyber capabilities for NATO, with the aim to maintain and reduce NATO cyberspace attack surface, to enable the integration of cyberspace in joint operations, and to facilitate collective training in the area of cyber security and cyber space operations.
This country visit was also a prime opportunity to highlight the role of Allied Command Transformation in the Warfare development area, which represents the essence of NATO’s transformation, focusing on innovation, emerging and disruptive technologies, modernization. Military leaders had the opportunity to discuss the NATO Warfare Capstone Concept, which will provide a Warfare Development framework for the Alliance for a 20 year time horizon, and Allied Command Transformation’s contribution to the “NATO 2030” initiative.
