After the attacks on American soil on 9-11-2001, NATO members joined together to create a response force charged with providing an “immediate response capability” for conducting collective defence of Alliance members in the event of an Article V operation. The result was a high readiness force comprising land, air, sea, and special forces units capable of being deployed quickly on operations wherever needed called the NATO Response Force (NRF).
With contributions of Alliance members plus non-NATO members such as Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, and Georgia, the NRF is composed of a Command and Control element, an Immediate Response Force, and a Response forces Pool. Part of the Immediate Response Forces, the Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one of NATO’s standing maritime forces, a “flotilla” of four warships, the Rapid Response Flotilla, that is sent on operational missions on short notice. Ships like the HMS Duncan, the German auxiliary Tanker Rhön, the Portuguese ship the NRP Álvares Cabral, and the Spanish ship the Borbon, are part of a group that tracked Russia’s aircraft carrier as it passed through the English Channel and arrived at Devonport. Not to be messed with.
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Do you think that this Immediate Response Force is strong enough to hold the fort until the U.S. Navy arrives if the situation calls for it? Sound off and share your opinions and comments in the section below.
