Strategic Airlift & Sealift Planning (Operational Priorities)

The ability to rapidly deploy and sustain military forces over long distances has re-emerged as a decisive factor in NATO and EU defence planning. “Strategic Airlift & Sealift Planning” addresses the core problem of how to move large formations, heavy equipment, and critical supplies quickly to where they are needed, whether to reinforce an exposed ally or to respond to a crisis abroad.

In the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, allied leaders acknowledged that without swift and large-scale military mobility, deterrence and defence commitments could ring hollow .

This analysis answers: Why has rapid strategic airlift and sealift re-emerged as decisive for NATO/EU deterrence and defence? How do force posture and command-and-control architectures enable rapid deployment of heavy formations? Which capability families and technology clusters (transport aircraft, sealift vessels) underpin military mobility? What structural bottlenecks and dependencies constrain allied strategic-transport capacity?