NATO must extend its Cold War-era fuel pipeline network hundreds of kilometers to the east to sustain a high-intensity conflict with Russia, a senior military official told reporters on Thursday.

Lieutenant General Kai Rohrschneider, head of NATO’s Allied Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC), warned that the current 10,000-kilometer infrastructure is no longer sufficient for an alliance that now stretches deep into Eastern Europe. 

The existing system, designed to support Western air bases like Ramstein, currently terminates in western Germany.

"From a military operational point of view, it would make a lot of sense to extend the pipeline system further to the east," Rohrschneider told Reuters. 

He identified Poland, the Baltic states, Finland, and Romania as critical nodes to address what he called "maybe the biggest supply challenge we face."

The latest report underscores renewed efforts by NATO members on the eastern flank to expand NATO's fuel pipelines eastward to ensure a stable jet fuel supply in the event of a war with Russia.

The shift follows a massive overhaul of NATO planning triggered by Russian aggression, following Ukraine’s invasion in February 2022. 

Since Finland and Sweden joined the alliance in 2023 and 2024, NATO has struggled to integrate northern and eastern supply routes into infrastructure buried just 80 centimeters underground decades ago.

However, the logistical demand is staggering. 

Air forces are projected to account for 85% of fuel consumption during a conflict, requiring hundreds of thousands of cubic meters daily. 

While jet fuel from the pipelines can be modified for tanks and trucks, the east lacks the storage and transport capacity to handle such volumes.

"What we will need in the end is a network of resilient fuel storage sites… that covers the whole rear of NATO's territory," Rohrschneider said.

However, the proposal faces steep political and financial hurdles. The extension is estimated to cost €21 billion ($24 billion) and could take 25 years to complete. A final decision may be reached before the NATO summit in Ankara this July.

The pipeline project coincides with a "military Schengen" initiative aimed at slashing transit times for heavy equipment and fuel, which currently face delays of up to 45 days. 

As frontline states like Poland build new defense lines, pressure is mounting on Brussels to fund a logistics corridor linking Western refineries directly to the eastern flank.