The FORTIFY Act would allow Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to freely share U.S. military equipment and services with each other without requiring approval from the President or U.S. government officials. Currently, when the U.S. sells defense articles to one country, that country must get permission before transferring them to another nation, but this bill would eliminate that requirement among the three Baltic states. The legislation also directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a shared system that allows the Baltic countries to exchange ammunition and other military supplies for training and operational purposes. Congress believes this flexibility will strengthen the region's ability to deter Russian aggression by making it appear that combined Baltic military forces could operate together at any time, while incurring no additional cost to the United States. The bill addresses no specific funding amounts or implementation timelines beyond requiring the Defense Department to establish the shared ammunition system.
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