Moving Allied forces rapidly across Europe requires more than roads, railways, ports and airports ~ this is where Military Mobility Areas come in.
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NATO Allied JSEC News Release, Ulm, August 2026: Moving Allied forces rapidly across Europe requires more than roads, railways, ports and airports. It also requires the rules, procedures, information and coordination needed to make cross-border movement work at the speed required for collective defence. This is where Military Mobility Areas (MMAs) come in.
MMAs bring neighbouring Nations together to identify and address the practical barriers that can slow the movement of military forces and equipment across borders. Their work covers functional areas such as cross-border movement procedures, availability of movement assets, information exchange and infrastructure synchronisation. As part of NATO’s Reinforcement and Sustainment Network (RSN), the development of MMAs contributes directly to the Alliance’s ability to reinforce and sustain forces across Europe.
From one pilot corridor to eight Military Mobility Areas: The first MMA initiative was launched in January 2024, when the Netherlands, Germany and Poland signed a Letter of Intent to strengthen military mobility along a key corridor connecting the North Sea with NATO’s Eastern Flank.
The trilateral initiative represented an important first step in developing a practical, multinational approach to military mobility. The three Nations worked together to identify obstacles to the rapid movement of military personnel and equipment and to develop solutions, including the simplification and harmonisation of procedures and improved coordination across borders.
The pioneering cooperation between the Netherlands, Germany and Poland is also visually reflected in the multinational leadership of JSEC today. Major General Detlev Simons, JSEC Chief of Staff, from the Netherlands; Lieutenant General Kai Rohrschneider, JSEC Commander, from Germany; and Major General Piotr Malinowski, JSEC Deputy Commander, from Poland represent three of the Nations that took part in the pioneering pilot initiative. The combination of these three nationalities within JSEC’s leadership is a coincidence that provides a powerful visual illustration of the multinational cooperation at the heart of NATO’s military mobility efforts.
Their presence within JSEC leadership is a visible example of the multinational cooperation required to make military mobility work across borders — and of the link between the pioneering work of the pilot corridor and JSEC’s role in coordinating the wider MMA development process today. The experience gained through this pilot has provided valuable lessons for the development of further Military Mobility Areas. In November 2025, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland were joined by Belgium, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Slovakia to establish the Central Northern European Military Mobility Area, building on the work initiated by the original trilateral corridor.
The Netherlands–Germany–Poland initiative therefore stands as an important example of how practical cooperation between neighbouring Nations can develop into a broader multinational approach to military mobility.
Eight Areas, One Network: The development of MMAs has since expanded considerably. Today, 28 Nations have signed Letters of Intent for their respective Military Mobility Areas and are working across eight areas on the functional development of the RSN under JSEC coordination. The objective is not to create new physical corridors. Instead, MMAs address the functional layer that enables forces to use existing and planned transport networks efficiently.
This includes questions such as:
- How can cross-border movement permissions be simplified and harmonised?
- How can Nations better coordinate available movement assets?
- How can information be exchanged more effectively?
- How can infrastructure development be synchronised with military requirements?
- How can national solutions be made more compatible across borders?
Addressing these questions collectively helps reduce friction and contributes to a more predictable and responsive reinforcement network.
JSEC: Connecting the Dots: For JSEC, the MMA initiative is an important element of its role in developing NATO’s Reinforcement and Sustainment Network. JSEC provides the operational-level perspective and coordinates the MMA development process across the participating areas. By bringing Nations and relevant NATO and EU stakeholders together, JSEC helps ensure that lessons identified in one area can inform the development of others.
From Development to Implementation: The next step is to turn the work already completed into practical and sustainable solutions. The 5th Military Mobility Area Coordination Conference, hosted by JSEC in Ulm in September 2026, will mark an important milestone in this process.
For the first time, the conference will bring together the wider ACO community, participating Nations as well as key NATO and EU stakeholders involved in MMA development. Building on the experience and results of the pilot MMA initiatives, participants will have the opportunity to align the development process directly with all key players and to establish the conditions for a potential next phase.
The 5th Military Mobility Area Coordination Conference, hosted by JSEC in Ulm in September 2026, will mark an important milestone in this process. The conference will therefore not only look at what has been achieved. It will focus on how the results can be implemented, how remaining gaps can be addressed and how the different MMAs can contribute to a coherent and effective European military mobility network.
Military mobility is not simply about moving forces. It is about creating the conditions that allow Allied forces to Enable – Deploy – Sustain across Europe, when and where they are needed. From corridors to capability. From coordination to implementation.
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