Feature: NATO prepares to reinforce eastern flank multinational brigades

Ceremony held in Boden, Sweden, on 6 June 2026 to stand up NATO's FLF Finland, including the alliance's newest multinational battlegroup. (Swedish Armed Forces/Mats Carlsson)

The nine NATO multinational brigades (MNBs) that make up the alliance's Forward Land Forces (FLF) presence in Central and Eastern Europe on its eastern flank are being transformed into high-tech forces. These are planned to be larger and more robust than the four enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battlegroups initially deployed to the Baltic states and Poland in 2017, and to be supported by unmanned systems. The MNBs are led by Sweden in Finland, the UK in Estonia, Canada in Latvia, Germany in Lithuania, the US in Poland, France in Romania, Spain in Slovakia, Italy in Bulgaria, and Hungary in its own country.

The MNBs are backed up by divisions being formed in their host countries, with brigades and more divisions from other NATO allies being earmarked for their defence, to be commanded by multinational corps headquarters.

Swedish-Finnish FLF

The FLF Finland, including the alliance's newest multinational battlegroup, was stood up during a ceremony at the Swedish Army's Norrbotten Regiment's base in Boden, Sweden, on 6 June 2026.

Led by framework nation Sweden, FLF Finland is composed of a Swedish battlegroup based in Boden and a multinational staff element in Rovaniemi, Finland, under the command of US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).