By the end of 2015, the U.S. plans to have nearly 150 tanks and armored vehicles stationed in Europe for use by American troops training in the area, Reuters reported.
Enough military vehicles to equip an armored brigade could be placed in Poland, Romania or the Baltic states - Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania - Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, told Reuters.
"By the end of ... 2015, we will have gotten all the equipment for a heavy brigade, that means three battalions plus a reconnaissance squadron, the artillery headquarters, engineers, and it will stay in Europe," Hodges said.
"You are talking about 150-ish, maybe 160 M1 tanks, M2 Bradley fighting vehicles, 24 self-propelled howitzers."
The move reassures nervous European allies that NATO will provide protection from a Russian offensive, should it occur. Last month, Hodges said several hundred U.S. troops will remain in Poland and the Baltic states for at least the next year.
Hodges said the decision to bring U.S. support to the area was made two years ago, before Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, after Hodges said he noticed that pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine may launch a new offensive.
Most of the equipment will likely remain at U.S. training centers in Germany, but some could be sent to Baltic countries, Poland or Romania, Hodges said. The U.S. currently has 30,000 troops in the area, in addition to a similar number of Air Force, Navy and Marine personnel, according to Reuters.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new defense doctrine claiming that NATO poses the biggest threat to the country, and said the country has the right to use nuclear weapons to counter any aggression that "threatens the very existence" of Russia, reported the LA Times. The doctrine also paved the way for Moscow to significantly upgrade its military in 2015, including upgrades to its nuclear forces and for expanding its presence in the Arctic.
Russia has responded to NATO military buildup and increased sanctions by increasing its military activity around the globe, including plans to fly bomber patrols in the Gulf of Mexico.
