(NewsNation) — New developments are already shaping up as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit opens in Madrid, Spain.

During the meeting’s first day, Turkey agreed to stop objecting to Sweden and Finland joining NATO and President Joe Biden is previewing new steps to bulk up NATO and U.S. forces in the region, bringing the count of Navy destroyers in Rota, Spain from four to six.

The destroyers are capable of carrying several hundred sailors and provide a significant increase in warfare capabilities. This is in the face of what adminstration officials are calling an increased threat from Russia.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that, among all 30 NATO countries, response force troops across Europe will surge 650% from 40,000 to 300,000 but experts tell NewsNation it could take years to reach that number.

Right now, about 100,000 U.S. troops are stationed throughout Europe, with most in Germany, the U.K., Poland and Italy.

A retired Navy admiral said the inreased number of American destroyers in the region could make a big difference.

“They can launch Tomahawk missiles to strike targets, either on the battlefield or more strategically deep in inside Russia,” said retired Admiral Mark Montgomery, a spokesman for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“They have anti-air defense weapons, they have anti-submarine warfare weapons and they, on occasion, have helicopters embarked to hunt those submarines. And they have anti-surface weapons, which are weapons that seek out adversary destroyers or cruisers,” he continued.

Biden is expected to announce more details of an increase in troop forces Wednesday. He arrived at the summit with the aim of stiffening the resolve of any wavering allies, and said Tuesday that NATO is “as united and galvanized as I think we have ever been.”

Top of the agenda for leaders in meetings Wednesday and Thursday is strengthening defenses against Russia and supporting Ukraine.