Why is Gotland so important for NATO, General Sollfrank?
The Baltic Sea is a strategically important region – as an economic and trade area for neighbouring countries and the European Union, but also for military reasons. With the Baltic states, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Poland and Sweden, eight NATO countries border the Baltic Sea. It links the Nordic countries to the European mainland.
Gotland is an operationally and strategically important hub. Just looking at the map makes that clear. After all, our Alliance needs secure harbours, sea routes and airspace at the Baltic Sea so it can take action.
That means that, if collective defence of the NATO countries at the northern or eastern flank becomes necessary, Gotland would be key terrain for NATO. Visible Swedish and NATO military presence on Gotland protects the island and the Alliance.
What is the Silver Wotan exercise about?
Silver Wotan is an exercise in rapid deployment to Gotland, specifically by land, air and sea, with military personnel from Germany and Sweden. After they are alerted, German forces deploy to Gotland to reinforce the Swedish armed forces. They are there to protect Swedish antiship guided missile systems and defend the coasts.
In addition, troops will secure and defend Visby’s harbour by land, sea and air. Silver Wotan shows that NATO members are willing and able to work together to maintain the Alliance’s freedom of manoeuvre in the Baltic.
Is Silver Wotan a response to current political events?
Military exercises like Silver Wotan are not a response to an individual event, but rather an ongoing demonstration of the NATO members’ defence readiness and capability. However, the increased exercises at NATO’s northern and eastern flanks have naturally been affected by the changed security situation in Europe and Russia’s increasingly aggressive and hybrid actions.
We have to always think in terms of options for action, analyse the strengths and weaknesses of all actors – including our own – and be able to take targeted action. This is less about responding than about anticipating. It is a matter of being prepared and taking resolute and credible action in the Alliance. That is the essence of deterrence.
How do you assess the situation at the Baltic Sea?
We are watching developments at the Baltic Sea very closely. For example, we try to stop civilian ships from being used for espionage or sabotage. Since the beginning of NATO’s Baltic Sentry mission, there has been a decrease in activities targeting critical underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. That’s good news, but we need to remain vigilant because resilience and defence readiness start long before an Article 5 contingency.
In order to monitor the Baltic Sea, protect it even better, further reduce hybrid attacks and prevent them whenever possible, the NATO countries bordering the Baltic Sea must cooperate and coordinate very closely. Joint exercises are an important element of this.
Has the hybrid threat situation changed in recent months?
The main change in the security situation is that hybrid activities have now become a permanent part of the threat situation. Cyber attacks, sabotage, espionage and disinformation have to be taken into consideration along with military and terrorist threats.
At the same time, the nature of hybrid activities has changed since early 2024, as we saw most recently at German airports. Through these activities, actors gather information and test our resilience and responsiveness. And the intention is to unsettle the population and stoke fears. We refuse to accept this.
With the brigade in Lithuania, Germany is increasing its involvement in the Baltic. In Eastern Shield, German military engineers are building border installations in Eastern Poland. Doesn’t that play into Russia’s narrative of NATO aggression?
Germany’s activities in Lithuania and Poland are a response to Russia’s aggressive behaviour in Eastern Europe. The presence of the brigade in Lithuania and reinforcement of NATO’s external borders in Eastern Shield are defensive in nature. They are intended to prevent an attack by ensuring that the effort involved and potential losses would be too great.
Only by credibly demonstrating that we are willing and able to defend NATO’s territory can we make an active and effective contribution to conflict prevention. That is an essential task for us. Not sabre-rattling, but a clear signal: NATO is a strong Alliance whose members stand together to ensure each other’s protection and sovereignty.
Where do you see the Bundeswehr Joint Force Command’s priorities for the coming months?
As a military command at the operational level, we focus on the development and enhancement of robust operational planning, command and control of our country’s defence. It is also important for us to improve our own resilience in the hybrid spectrum, to become more agile, robust and formidable.
Our goal – in the Command and in the Bundeswehr – is to further improve defence capability and to counter threats with the entire Bundeswehr. This requires leadership, skills and military personnel who know what they are fighting for when it comes down to it. That makes deterrence credible and effective.
