The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) said that six EA-18G Growler jets, as well as around 240 Navy personnel, were headed from Washington state’s Naval Air Station Whidbey Island to Germany’s Spangdahlem Air Base on Monday. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby stressed that the planes and personnel would be used to help bolster defense on NATO’s eastern flank.

“The purpose of this deployment is to bolster readiness, enhance NATO’s collective defense posture and further increase air integration capabilities with our allied and partner nations,” Kirby said in a statement obtained by Newsweek. “They are not being deployed to be used against Russian forces in Ukraine.”

“They are being deployed completely in keeping with our efforts to bolster NATO’s deterrence and defense capabilities along that eastern flank,” he continued. “The deployment is not in response to a perceived threat or incident.”

A senior Defense Department official told reporters on Monday that the planes would remain “based in Germany” but would be “flying missions in support of eastern flank deterrence and defense” without directly engaging with Russian forces.

Kirby noted that the Boeing-built Growler planes “specialize in flying electronic warfare missions,” being equipped with technology that can jam signals and confuse enemy radar. Kirby said the aircraft would improve NATO abilities “to conduct suppression of enemy air defense operations.”

The planes come from an electronic attack squadron known as VAQ-134, or the “Garudas.” The Navy personnel accompanying the planes include pilots and maintenance workers. Navy Captain Christopher Bahner, the commander of Electronic Attack Wing Pacific, expressed confidence that deployment would prove valuable.

“I am extremely proud of the men and women in VAQ-134,” Bahner said. “The Garudas have performed exceptionally well during their planned work-up cycle and stand ready to support U.S. expeditionary and allied task forces in Europe.”

The U.S. has committed at least 14,000 troops to support NATO forces amid the attack on Ukraine, with about 11,800 troops being mobilized since February, according to Military Times. There are currently over 100,000 U.S. service members stationed in Europe.

While NATO territory is being defended, the U.S. and other member countries have been far more reluctant to directly supply military support to Ukraine due to the potential of provoking an expanded war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked for direct assistance in the form of airplanes, arms, and other military equipment.

“I just want you to know—the alliance can still prevent deaths of Ukrainians from Russian strikes, from the Russian occupation … by providing us with all the weapons we’re in need of,” Zelensky said in a video played at a NATO meeting in Brussels last week. “You can give us 1 percent of all your planes. One percent of your tanks. One percent!”