| Date | Spring every three years |
|---|---|
| Location | Europe |
| Participants | NATO's members and accession candidates |
Steadfast Defender is the name of a series of NATO exercises. The latest exercise, being held in 2024, is the largest since the Cold War. [1] The first one was held in 2021, and they are planned to be held every three years. [2]
The French Armed Forces are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' military reserve force. As stipulated by France's constitution, the president of France serves as commander-in-chief of the French military. France has the eighth largest defence budget in the world and the second largest in the European Union (EU). It also has the largest military by size in the EU. A 2015 Credit Suisse report ranked the French Armed Forces as the world's sixth most powerful military.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber. The organization's strategic concepts include deterrence.
The Bundeswehr is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Bundeswehr is divided into a military part and a civil part, the military part consisting of the German Army, the German Navy, the German Air Force, the Joint Support Service, the Joint Medical Service, and the Cyber and Information Domain Service.
Exercise Campaign Reforger was an annual military exercise and campaign conducted by NATO during the Cold War. The exercise was intended to ensure that NATO had the ability to quickly deploy forces to West Germany in the event of a conflict with the Warsaw Pact. Although most troops deployed were from the United States, the operation also involved a substantial number of troops from other NATO countries including Canada and the United Kingdom.
Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one of NATO's standing naval maritime immediate reaction forces. SNMG1 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability.
The NATO Response Force (NRF) is a high-readiness NATO rapid deployment force comprising land, sea, air, and special forces units capable of being deployed quickly within short notice. The NRF currently comprises up to 40,000 troops, with plans to increase its manpower to over 300,000 troops. Its forces include units from several non-NATO member partners, including Ukraine, and Georgia. Its forces also include units from Sweden, which joined the Response Force in 2013 and became a NATO member in 2024.
Nordic Response is the name given to Norwegian led military exercises with NATO member countries and invited Partnership for Peace countries held in Norway every second year.
The Kosovo Security Force (KSF) is the military of Kosovo. The KSF is tasked with defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo, military support for civilian authorities, and participation in international peacekeeping missions and operations. Since 2018, it is in the process of transforming into the Kosovo Armed Forces.
Exercise Balikatan is the most prominent annual military exercise between the Philippines and the United States. The Tagalog word balikatan means "shoulder-to-shoulder". The exercises have been the cornerstone of Philippines–United States military relations since the closure of U.S. bases in the Philippines.
Operation Atlantic Resolve, refers to military activities in response to Russian operations in Ukraine, mainly the War in Donbass. It was funded under the European Deterrence Initiative. In the wake of Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and the U.K. took several immediate steps to enhance the deterrence posture along the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including augmenting the air, ground and naval presence in the region, and enhancing previously scheduled exercises.
EUBG 2014 II or EUBG 2014-2 is an EU Battlegroup consisting of around 3,000 troops from Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, the Netherlands and North Macedonia. It was on standby from 1 July until 31 December 2014.
Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) is a NATO-allied forward-deployed defense and deterrence military force in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. This posture in Northern Europe through Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and in Central Europe through Poland, Slovakia and Hungary and in Eastern Europe through Romania and Bulgaria, is in place to protect and reassure the security of NATO's Northern, Central and Eastern European member states on NATO's eastern flank.
Trident Juncture 18, abbreviated TRJE18, was a NATO-led military exercise held in Norway in October and November 2018 with an Article 5 collective defence scenario. The exercise was the largest of its kind in Norway since the 1980s. An expected 50,000 participants from 31 nations partook, including 10,000 vehicles, 250 aircraft and 65 vessels. The exercise was mainly held in the central and eastern parts of Norway, in addition to air and sea areas in Norway, Sweden and Finland. The stated goal of Trident Juncture was to train the NATO Response Force and to test the alliance's defence capability. According to the Norwegian Armed Forces, the exercise tested the country's ability to receive and handle allied support.
NATO forces in Poland consist of both Polish and allied units. Poland joined NATO in 1999.
The UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG) is a carrier battle group of the Royal Navy. It has existed in various forms since the mid-2000s. Between 2006 and 2011, the formation centred around the Royal Navy's Invincible-class aircraft carriers until the retirement of their Harrier GR9 strike aircraft in 2011 as a result of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The UKCSG subsequently returned in February 2015 ahead of the entry into service of the new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. The aim of the CSG is to facilitate carrier-enabled power projection.
In March and April 2021, prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces began massing thousands of personnel and military equipment near Russia's border with Ukraine and in Crimea, representing the largest mobilisation since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. This precipitated an international crisis due to concerns over a potential invasion. Satellite imagery showed movements of armour, missiles, and heavy weaponry towards the border. The troops were partially withdrawn by June 2021, though the infrastructure was left in place. A second build-up began in October 2021, this time with more soldiers and with deployments on new fronts; by December over 100,000 Russian troops were massed around Ukraine on three sides, including Belarus from the north and Crimea from the south. Despite the Russian military build-ups, Russian officials from November 2021 to 20 February 2022 repeatedly denied that Russia had plans to invade Ukraine.
Defender-Europe 21 was a large-scale, United States Army-led, multinational joint exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between the United States, NATO and partner militaries. Taking place between mid-March and June, it was one of the largest United States Army, NATO-led military exercises in Europe in decades. More than 28,000 personnel from 26 nations conducted nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in a dozen countries.
Since Estonia joined NATO in 2004, Estonia has participated in many joint military operations using its Estonian Defence Forces. Estonia has also participated in NATO-led military and peacekeeping operations before 2004.
Steadfast Defender 2024 or Steadfast Defender 24 is the 2024 NATO Steadfast Defender exercise that takes place from 22 January to 31 May 2024 throughout the Trans-Atlantic region. It will be used to practice the response to a hypothetical aggression by a power or adversary against a member country, activating Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. The exercise is part of the series of Steadfast Defender maneuvers. It is the largest NATO maneuver since the end of the Cold War.
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