How NATO Allies Are Closing Land Warfare Capability Gaps on the Eastern Flank
Joanne Swann
09/22/2025
Land Warfare and NATO’s Eastern Flank
The war in Ukraine has placed NATO’s eastern flank at the centre of regional defence. Currently, this frontline is facing a number of unwelcome challenges, including conventional aggression, hybrid tactics and developing technologies – putting alliances to the test. At the heart of these efforts is land warfare: the domain of armoured manoeuvre, artillery and fires capabilities, which must be ready to adapt. Yet, while recent conflicts have highlighted the importance of land power, they have also exposed gaps in mobility, air defence and digital resilience that no single nation can address alone.[1] In order to better safeguard the eastern flank, NATO allies are actively intensifying collaboration to help strengthen collective readiness as the war continues.[2]
The Strategic Significance of the Eastern Flank in Land Warfare
The eastern flank, which comprises of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Poland down to Romania and Bulgaria, is the most exposed frontier against Russian advances - this is why it is essential to NATO’s strategic posture. As seen with recent incursions of Russian drones into Polish airspace, the eastern flank’s close proximity to active conflict reflects how quickly aggression can escalate. Incidents such as these highlight the need to modernise equipment and infrastructure to reduce vulnerability.
For this reason, NATO’s Integrated Deterrence concept (which combines forward-deployed forces, joint operations and shared readiness among allies) is being accelerated across these states. Some of this reinforcement includes:
https://www.defenceiq.com/army-land-forces/articles/how-nato-allies-are-closing-land-warfare-capability-gaps-on-the-eastern-flank
