To better defend its eastern border, NATO practiced the rapid deployment of combat-ready troops and strengthening its ability to quickly scale up battlegroups from battalion to a larger brigade size formation where and when required. Exercise Griffin Shock was the first such test, with the U.S. Army’s 2^nd Cavalry Regiment deploying temporarily to Battlegroup Poland in May 2023. The United Kingdom and Germany followed suit in the following weeks in Estonia and Lithuania respectively. This training exercise supported NATO's new defence plans which were agreed upon at the 2023 Vilnius Summit to enhance the Alliance’s ability to keep its territory and citizens safe.

Video courtesy of NATO.