NATO is gearing up for its most extensive military exercises since the Cold War era, designed to simulate how U.S. forces can swiftly reinforce European nations bordering Russia and the alliance’s eastern flank in the event of a potential conflict with a “near-peer” adversary.
Leading the effort is NATO’s top commander, Chris Cavoli, who announced that approximately 90,000 troops will participate in the Steadfast Defender 2024 exercises, scheduled to extend through May.
The exercise will involve over 50 naval vessels, ranging from aircraft carriers to destroyers, along with more than 80 fighter jets, helicopters, drones, and a fleet of at least 1,100 combat vehicles, including 133 tanks and 533 infantry fighting vehicles, according to NATO.
Cavoli emphasized that these drills will serve as a rehearsal for the implementation of NATO’s regional defense plans, marking the alliance’s first such plans in decades.
These plans outline NATO’s response strategies in the event of a potential Russian attack, although NATO did not explicitly mention Russia in its official announcement. Nevertheless, NATO’s top strategic document identifies Russia as the primary and most direct threat to the security of its member nations.
The stated objective of Steadfast Defender 2024 is to demonstrate NATO’s capability to rapidly deploy forces from North America and other parts of the alliance to bolster Europe’s defense in a simulated scenario involving a “near-peer adversary,” as explained by Cavoli during a press conference in Brussels following a two-day meeting of national chiefs of defense.
Massive undertaking
The magnitude of this exercise has not been seen since the Cold War, with the last similar-scale drills being Reforger in 1988, involving 125,000 participants, and Trident Juncture in 2018, with 50,000 participants.
Participating troops will hail from NATO member countries, including Sweden, which aspires to join the alliance in the near future. The regional defense plans were ratified at the 2023 Vilnius summit, marking the end of an era during which NATO had no substantial need for large-scale defense plans. This period coincided with Western countries engaging in smaller conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, during which it was believed that post-Soviet Russia no longer posed an existential threat.
