The UK Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

-led expeditionary force which consists of,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. Eight of the countries are also members of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

, with Finland and Sweden currently outside that alliance.

History

Creation

The JEF concept was first conceived in 2012 and announced by the then Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards.Speech Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir David Richards

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank ...

(RUSI), 17 December 2012 The JEF arose from the

Joint Rapid Reaction Force The Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF) was a capability concept of the British Armed Forces from 1999 to 2010. It was a pool of specialised units from all three armed services tasked with rapid deployment worldwide at short notice. The force was int ...

(JRRF) which disappeared as a result of the UK's focus on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The multinational JEF was officially launched with the Letter of Intent as a NATO initiative at the September 2014 Wales Summit, subsumed under the new “Framework Nations Concept” rubric. Germany, the UK and Italy were to act as framework nations for groups of Allies coming together to work multi-nationally for the joint development of forces and capabilities required by NATO. The United Kingdom element of the JEF consists of personnel and equipment from the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and is designed to provide greater levels of integration than previously achieved especially when combined with other nations' armed forces. In September 2014, the British

Defence Secretary A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

Michael Fallon Sir Michael Cathel Fallon (born 14 May 1952) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2014 to 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks from 1997 to 2019, ...

also announced the signature of a Letter of Intent between Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom, to establish the JEF so that it is fully operational before 2018. In early October 2015, Swedish Defence Minister

Peter Hultqvist Carl Anders ''Peter'' Hultqvist (born 31 December 1958) is a Swedish politician of the Social Democrats who served as the Minister for Defence in the Swedish Government from 2014 to 2022. Background Born in 1958, Hultqvist is of Finnish desce ...

said that he did not rule out Sweden joining the Joint Expeditionary Force, even though no formal process exists to do so at the moment, when he was summoned by the

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

to confirm if the government was engaged in formal talks to join the JEF without the knowledge of the parliament. On June 22nd 2017, the Swedish government confirmed that Sweden will be joining the Joint Expeditionary Force. On November 30th 2015 in the UK 7 countries – UK, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway – signed the contract for founding the JEF. In 2017, Sweden and Finland joined the JEF. On June 28th 2018, a comprehensive memorandum of understanding was signed amongst eight partner nations. In April 2021, Iceland joined the JEF.

Activities and development since 2019

In 2019, a series of maritime exercises occurred amongst JEF nations, known as BALTIC PROTECTOR. Following a meeting of JEF Defence Ministers in London on April 3rd, the first military phase of BALTIC PROTECTOR took place May 24th to 4 June off Denmark. They practised the basic skills for high intensity modern maritime warfare, including both land and sea training. Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and UK forces worked together to increase interoperability and share tactical knowledge. In addition to maritime operations, marines and soldiers from across the exercising nations undertook

Urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians a ...

simulations, live firing and parachuting. While JEF is willing and able to act without other nations, they prepare to work alongside

, EU, UN and other allies. They also joined the US 2nd Fleet on their annual

BALTOPS BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) is an annual military exercise, held and sponsored by the Commander, United States Naval Forces Europe, since 1971, in the Baltic Sea and the regions surrounding it. The purpose of BALTOPS is to train gunnery, replenis ...

exercise, which formed Phase 2 of BALTIC PROTECTOR. From 9 to 23 June, JEF forces were in the seas off Germany and Sweden where they conducted a sea war exercise, including Mine Countermeasure operations, naval gunfire, beach reconnaissance and close air support. On conclusion of the BALTOPS phase, many participating ships sailed to Kiel, Germany, to take part in the Kielerwochen Festival (Kiel Week). In the final phase, between 26 June and 8 July, they did Amphibious operations, working together on several beach landings around the Baltic States. To coincide with the final phase, Defence Ministers and Chiefs of Defence met to mark the achievements in the year since JEF was declared operational and set the ambition for the next four years. On 20 April 2021, Ben Wallace, the British Secretary of State for Defence, and Sturla Sigurjónsson the Icelandic Ambassador to the United Kingdom signed a note of joining, leading

to become the 10th member of the JEF. In February 2022, the foreign ministers of the 10 JEF countries announced military drills (ground, air and navy) in northern Europe.

Requirements

The aim of the JEF is to create a UK military framework, focused around its existing high readiness capabilities, that its partners can join up with. While it is the UK's intention to fully integrate the UK's JEF partners’ contributions before 2018, the JEF could deploy immediately if required. It is designed with the following requirements in mind: :"''a. act jointly and with allies, but able to act alone''" :"''b. be well equipped, but not tied to platforms''" :"''c. adapt as the environment changes''"

Capabilities

The JEF is intended as a pool of high readiness, adaptable forces that is designed to enhance the UK's ability to respond rapidly, anywhere in the world, with like-minded allies, or on behalf of international organisations such as the UN or NATO. The UK's contribution will include the lead commando, airborne, armoured, aviation, air and maritime task groups. Speaking before the

, Sir David Richards outlined the specific applications that the capabilities of the Joint Expeditionary Force will allow: "''With the capability to ‘punch’ hard and not be a logistical or tactical drag on a coalition, we will be especially welcomed by our friends and feared by our enemies.''" "''JEF will be capable of projecting power with global effect and influence. Nowhere is more important to us than our friends in the Middle East and Gulf and in line with clear political intent we would expect, with other initiatives, for JEF elements to spend more time reassuring and deterring in that region.''"

International partners

Together with the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

, the following nine nations may form part of the JEF as required. * Denmark –

Danish Defence Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The De ...

* Estonia –

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary E ...

* Finland –

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces ( fi, Puolustusvoimat, sv, Försvarsmakten) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime the Finnish Border Guard (whic ...

* Iceland – Icelandic Armed Forces * Latvia – Latvian National Armed Forces * Lithuania –

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service ...

* Netherlands –

Armed forces of the Netherlands The Netherlands Armed Forces ( nl, Nederlandse krijgsmacht) are the military services of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The core of the armed forces consists of the four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (), the Royal Netherlands Ar ...

* Norway –

Norwegian Armed Forces The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...

* Sweden –

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Defence chief signals major UK military presence in Gulf
(theguardian.com)
Håkon Lunde Saxi, "The UK Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF)", ''IFS Insights'', no. 5. Oslo: Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS), 2018. 6 pagesHåkon Lunde Saxi, "British and German initiatives for defence cooperation: the Joint Expeditionary Force and the Framework Nations Concept", ''Defence Studies'' 17, no. 2 (2017): 171–197
*Richard Reeve
The UK's Joint Expeditionary Force
ORG Explains #10, London: Oxford Research Group, June 2019. Military of the United Kingdom Military units and formations of the United Kingdom Expeditionary units and formations