The then–Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, announced the JEF in 2012. [6] It was initially conceived as a UK-only formation, a successor to the Joint Rapid Reaction Force (JRRF), which was established in 1999 but was disbanded due to insufficient resources as a result of the UK's focus on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. [7]
On 5 September 2014, the multinational JEF was officially launched with a letter of intent, signed by Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway, with the intent to be fully operational by 2018. [8] It was launched as a NATO initiative at the September 2014 Wales Summit, subsumed under the new "Framework Nations Concept" rubric. Under the rubric, Germany, the UK and Italy were to act as 'framework nations' for groups of NATO allies working together for the joint development of forces and capabilities required by NATO. [9] The UK element of the JEF consists of personnel and equipment from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army and Royal Air Force. It was designed to provide greater levels of integration than previously achieved, especially when combined with other countries' armed forces. [6]
Sweden, which was not a NATO member state until 2023, did not sign the initial letter of intent. In early October 2015 Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist explained that, although he did not rule out Sweden joining the JEF, no formal process exists that would allow them to join JEF. He was summoned by the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament, to confirm whether the Swedish government was engaged in formal talks to join the JEF without the knowledge of the parliament. [10]
On 30 November 2015, seven countries (UK, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, and Norway) signed the contract to establish the JEF at Lancaster House in London. [11]
On 22 June 2017 the Swedish government confirmed that Sweden would join the JEF. On 30 June 2017, Finland also joined the JEF. [12]
On 28 June 2018, a comprehensive memorandum of understanding was signed amongst nine partner countries. On that date, capability existed to deploy over 10,000 personnel. [1] [13]
Activities (2019–present)
On 20 April 2021, Ben Wallace, the UK Secretary of State for Defence, and Sturla Sigurjónsson, the Icelandic Ambassador to the United Kingdom, signed a 'Note of Joining', leading Iceland to become the 10th member of the JEF. [14]
In February 2022, the foreign ministers of the 10 JEF countries announced military drills (ground, air and navy) in northern Europe. [15]
In March 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a meeting of the heads of government of the JEF, where he said "everything will be directed against Europe if Ukraine does not survive. Therefore, I ask you: help yourself by helping us." [4]
On 28 November 2023, it was announced that the UK's contribution to the JEF, the Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime), would deploy to patrol the Baltic Sea. Sweden announced that it would participate with two Visby-class corvettes. [16]
Royal Navy 
Royal Marines 
British Army 
Royal Air Force 
