Steadfast Defender draws to a close for thousands of personnel across all of Nato

Exercise Steadfast Defender 24 has come to a close, having involved more than 90,000 armed forces personnel, over 50 ships, more than 80 aircraft flying hundreds of sorties and in excess of 1,100 combat vehicles from all 32 Nato allies.

The training, which began in January, focused on promoting readiness across all domains and at all levels of command – strategic, operational and tactical.

Steadfast Defender was designed to train and demonstrate Nato's ability to reinforce continental Europe via the transatlantic movement of forces from North America and the UK.

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It comprised several Nato and nationally-led exercises that brought allied troops together in a display of unity and interoperability.

"Exercise Steadfast Defender demonstrated the incredible strength of the transatlantic bond between Nato allies in Europe and those in North America," said General Christopher Cavoli, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (Saceur).

"The highly complex military activities conducted over the course of this exercise have demonstrated that this alliance is capable and ready to conduct our core mission of collective defence."

Steadfast Defender tested Nato and national forces during a simulated emerging conflict scenario against a near-peer adversary.

The exercise was executed in two parts.

Part one was a maritime-focused live exercise that involved various headquarters rehearsing the strategic deployment of forces from North America to continental Europe.

Part two was a multi-domain demonstration of Nato, national and multinational military capabilities across continental Europe.

"We co-ordinated, conducted and sustained complex multi-domain operations over several months, and across thousands of kilometres, from the High North to Central and Eastern Europe," said Brigadier General Gunnar Bruegner, the Assistant Chief of Staff responsible for Collective Training & Exercises.

"The most important takeaway is that complex exercises at this scale and ambition remain essential to stress-test our readiness, plans and concepts, and for maintaining our operational coherence and unity."

Exercises are important tools through which the Nato alliance tests and validates its concepts, procedures, systems and tactics for operations in times of peace, crisis and conflict.