List Of NATO Exercises
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North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermat ...
(NATO) exercises. A substantial list of additional exercises (1949-1985) may be found her


Cold War (1950–1990)


Annual exercises

* Exercise Able Archer was an annual exercise by NATO military forces in Europe. * Northern Wedding was a naval exercise held 1970–1986, designed to test NATO's ability to rearm and resupply Europe. * Exercise Reforger (Certain Strike) was a major annual exercise and campaign conducted from 1969 to 1993, mainly on German territory.


1950s

* Exercise Mainbrace - Defence of
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
during September 1952. ** 200 ships ** over 50,000 personnel *
Exercise Grand Slam Exercise Grand Slam was an early major naval exercise of the newly formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This 1952 combined naval exercise took place in the Mediterranean Sea, and it included a naval force that was described as being " ...
. Naval exercise in the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
in 1952. * Exercise Longstep. Large naval exercise in the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
in 1952. * Exercise Italic Weld, a combined air-naval-ground exercise in
northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...
during August 1953 * Exercise Grand Repulse during September 1953 ** British Army on the Rhine (BAOR) ** Netherlands Corps ** Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE) * Exercise Monte Carlo, a simulated atomic air-ground exercise during September 1953 ** Central Army Group * Exercise Weldfast, a combined amphibious landing exercise in the Mediterranean Sea during October 1953 ** American, British, Greek, Italian and Turkish naval forces. *During Exercise Battle Royal in September 1954, I Corps (Belgium) consisted of 1 (BE) Infantry Division and 16 (BE) Armoured Division with 1 Canadian Brigade and 46 Parachute Brigade ( 16th Airborne Division (United Kingdom)) under command. * Exercise Carte Blanche (1955) - Rehearsal of the use of tactical nuclear weapons. * Operation Counter Punch (1957) * Operation Strikeback (1957) Involved 200 warships, 650 aircraft, and 75,000 personnel from the United States Navy, the Royal Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, the French Navy, the Royal Netherlands Navy, and the Royal Norwegian Navy. Was the largest peacetime naval operation up to that time, according to the ''New York Times''. * Operation Deep Water (1957) * Exercise Mariner (1957) * Exercise Full Play (1958) * Exercise Side Step (1959) * Exercise Riptide (1959) - An anti-submarine/airstrike exercise held in the US and Western Atlantic. Involved Naval forces from United States and United Kingdom. * Exercise Red Epoch (1959)


1960s

* Exercise Fallex (1960) * Operation Skyshield (1960–1962) - Held in US and Canada by NORAD and CONAD to test defenses against air (nuclear) attack from Soviet Union. * Exercise Weldfast (1961) * Exercise Silver Tower (1968) - A large scale naval exercise in the Mediterranean, testing of merchant convoy procedures. * Exercise Teamwork (1964/1976/1980)https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/archives/command-operation-reports/ship-command-operation-reports/s/saipan-lha-2-ii/pdf/1980.pdf - Naval, shipping protection, humanitarian operations.


1970s

* Exercise Bold Guard (1974) - Resulted in the Kiel Canal disaster.


1980s

* Exercise Anorak Express (1980) - Cold weather training. * Exercise Display Determination (1982/1984) - Parachuting in Turkey * Exercise Central Enterprise (1982 to present) - A periodic live-fire exercise designed to test integrated air defenses in Western and Central Europe. *
Able Archer 83 Able Archer 83 was a military exercise conducted by NATO that took place in November 1983, as part of Exercise Able Archer, the annual Able Archer exercise. It Military simulation, simulated a period of heightened nuclear tensions between NATO a ...
, carried out in November 1983, is believed to have nearly started a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. * Exercise Autumn Forge (1983) - Exercise in Holland. * Exercise Lionheart (1984). A large exercise led by Britain in 1984 involving 131,565 UK personnel, quoted as being the largest since World War 2. Also involving approximately 10,000 FRG, Dutch, American and Commonwealth personnel. * Exercise Caravan Guard (1988) - During the exercise V (US) Corps and 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) tested reconstitution of degraded combat units after an initial battle. * Exercise Iron Hammer (1988). Involved 24,800 troops and 7000 vehicles operating in UK and FRG. * Exercise Reforger 1988


Post-Cold War (1990–present)

* Northern Viking. Annual exercise held in Iceland, every two years until 2006 when the frequency was increased. Tests capability and inter-operability of forces. Includes naval vessels, fighter planes and helicopters from multiple countries. Size example: involved transfer of 400 foreign troops to iceland in 2008. * Joint Warrior. Ongoing since sometime in the Cold War. Up to 13,000 personnel. Airborne assaults, amphibious landings, counter-insurgency, counter-piracy and interstate war. Held in UK. Currently done twice a year (as of 2022). * Frisian Flag. Major aerial exercise in Netherlands. Annual, first held 1992. Uses about 70 aircraft. Eg about 1000 personnel in 2018. * Unified Vision. Twice-yearly exercise which began in 2012 to test advanced defense systems at the Ørland Main Air Station in Norway. * BALTOPS Annual US-led maritime exercise in Germany and the Baltic Sea. Participating countries include Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden.


1997

* Baltic Challenge. Naval.


1998

* Baltic Challenge. Naval.


1999

* Battle Griffin. 20,000 soldiers. 16 February to 3 March in Norway. Land, sea, air and Home Guard Forces from 8 NATO countries (Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States) participated.


2006

* Cold Response: Took place in Norway in March, involving 10,000 troops from 11 countries under Norwegian leadership.


2009

* Cold Response. Norwegian-led, in Norway 16–25 March. * Cooperative 09. 1100 troops; held in Georgia. * Loyal Arrow 09. Largest military exercise ever held in Sweden, involving 900 ground troops, 50 aircraft, and a British aircraft carrier with 1000 sailors onboard.


2010

* Cold Response. 9,000 troops from 14 countries. Norwegian-led in Norway 17 Feb - 4 March.


2012

* Cold Response. 16,000 troops. Norwegian-led in Norway in March.


2014

* Cold Response. More than 16,000 troops. Norwegian-led in Norway in March. * Atlantic Resolve. Four companies of U.S. forces (about 150 troops each) rotate continuously throughout the year, deployed in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. Also U.S. Air Force Joint Terminal Attack Controller from the 2nd Air Support Operations Squadron out of Vilseck, Germany. * Iron Sword. Lithuania led exercise involving 2,500 troops from November 2 – November 14.


2015

* Atlantic Resolve. Several U.S. fighter squadrons and U.K. Royal Air Force "Task Force Brawler" operate in Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. ** Dragoon Ride. Small operation connected with Atlantic Resolve. ** Spring Storm (Siil, Hedgehog). 13,000 troops including 7,000 reservists. Article 5-type scenario in Estonia in May. **Iron Sword. Lithuania led exercise involving 2,000 troops from November 8 – November 20. * Trident Juncture 2015, September–November 2015, Mediterranean Sea.


2016

* Cold Response 16. More than 15,000 troops. Norwegian-led in
Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
from 29 February - 11 March. ** Air Component *** United States **** Boeing B-52H Stratofortresses of the 2nd Bomb Wing ****
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave ...
s ****
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...
s ****
Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
es * Anaconda 2016. Polish-led exercises involving 31,000 military personnel from 24 NATO and non-NATO countries, including 14,000 from the U.S., 12,000 from Poland and 800 from the UK. Elements of the NATO Response Force participated in the exercises. Took place from 7 June to 17 June. * Atlantic Resolve. Several U.S. fighter squadrons and U.K aviation Task Force operate in Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. *Iron Sword. Lithuania led exercise involving 4,000 troops from November 20 – December 2.


2017

* Atlantic Resolve. Several U.S. fighter squadrons, U.S. 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, a U.S. Army Aviation Brigade of 400 soldiers and, also from the U.S., 3500 army troops, 87 tanks and 144 Bradley Fighting Vehicles operated in Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. * Rapid Trident. 2500 personnel, including Canadian. Location: Ukraine.


2018

* Exercise Trident Juncture 2018. 50,000 troops. Held in
Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...
,
Oppland Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The ...
and
Hedmark Hedmark () was a Counties of Norway, county in Norway from 1 January 1919 to 31 December 2019, bordering Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west, Akershus to the south, and Sweden to the east. The county administration is in Hamar. Hedmar ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
mainly in October–November. Stated purpose was to train the NATO Response Force. * Atlantic Resolve. Several U.S. fighter squadrons, a U.S. Army Aviation Brigade and a U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team operated in Eastern Europe.


2019

* Atlantic Resolve. Several U.S. fighter squadrons, a U.S. Army Aviation Brigade and a U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team operated in Eastern Europe. * Iron Spear (7 October—13 October). Hosted in Latvia, 28 tank crews from eight countries take part in maneuvering, targeting and shooting exercises.


2020

In 2020, NATO conducted 88 of 113 planned NATO exercises, the reduction in number being due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. NATO countries also held 176 other national and multinational exercises."Key NATO and Allied Exercises in 2021
/ref> The exerises included the following: * DEFENDER-Europe 20. U.S.-led multinational exercise including NATO participation. Included 20,000 soldiers deployed directly from the U.S. to Europe. * Dynamic Mongoose 20. NATO-led. 29 June to 10 July 2020 in the High North. Ships, submarines, aircraft and personnel from six Allied nations (France, Germany, Norway, UK, Canada and U.S.) exercised off the coast of
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
for anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare training. * Cold Response. Suspended due to the pandemic. * Bomber Task Force. Strategic bomber mission held since 2018 for U.S. integration with NATO allies. * Atlantic Resolve. Several U.S. fighter squadrons, a U.S. Army Aviation Brigade and a U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team operated in Eastern Europe. * Iron Spear (10 October—15 October). Hosted in Latvia, 44 armored fighting vehicles representing twelve countries take part in an armored gunnery competition. Six U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft from the 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, arrived at RAF Fairford, England on 22 August 2020 for a planned training mission where the aircraft conducted theater and flight training across Europe and Africa. On 4 September, the American B-52s entered the airspace of Ukraine for the first time in history, where they made a long flight along the borders of the
Crimean peninsula Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...
. On 25 September, two U.S. bombers staged a mock attack run on
Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...
, a Russian semi-exclave on the Baltic between Poland and Lithuania, where Russia moved nuclear-capable missiles in 2018. The flight path allowed the bombers effectively to fly a circle around
Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...
. The simulated raid on the region was a test case of neutralizing Russian missile systems. Altogether, in August–September 2020, two U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft, integrated with Norwegian F-35 and F-16 fighter aircraft as well as Norwegian frigates, flew over international waters in the vicinity of the Norwegian Sea.


2021

In 2021, NATO expected to conduct 95 NATO exercises and NATO countries were expected to conduct 220 other national and multinational exercises. The NATO exercises were to include 24 land-focused exercises, 24 air exercises, 9 maritime exercises and 20 multi-domain exercises. Other exercises were to be conducted to train specific functions such as cyber defence, crisis response decision-making, Chemical, Biological, Radiological Nuclear defense, logistics, communications and medical activities. The exercises included the following: * Griffin Force I 2021. Training of land component of NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force in enablement and rapid military mobility, 18–20 January in Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. * Defender-Europe 21. 30,000 troops. Mid-March through June. Included "nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas" in
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
,
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
and other countries. *
Locked Shields Locked Shields is an annual cyber defence exercise organised by NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn since 2010. The format is usually that a red team simulates a hostile attack while blue teams from the partici ...
21. "One of the world's largest and most complex live cyber defence exercises, hosted annually by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence... The exercise simulates responding to a massive cyber incident, and includes strategic decision-making, legal and communication aspects. Held 1–30 April in Estonia. * CAPABLE DEPLOYER 2021 – NATO Allied Force Interoperability Exercise. Romania, 2 May to 23 May. Planned and coordinated by the Multinational Logistics Center. * Wind Spring 21. Romania, 2 May to 27 May. Joint and multinational NATO military operations. * Ramstein Ambition 21 – The NATO Electronic Warfare Force Integration Programme with regional elements of NATO's Integrated Air and Missile Defence System conducted through the Combined Air Operation Centre (CAOC), which took place between 3 May and 14 May. * Spring Storm. 14,000 troops, 11 May to 31 May in Estonia. "A large live exercise of the Estonian Defence Forces with participation from NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroups and other Allied forces." * BALTOPS 50. June. Annual exercise in the Baltic Sea. * Sea Breeze 21. Live exercise led by Bulgarian Navy from 11–19 July. Size: around 2500 people. * Iron Wolf II 21. 4000 troops. Live exercise, 1–26 November in Lithuania to train NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence. * Atlantic Resolve. Several U.S. fighter squadrons, a U.S. Army Aviation Brigade and a U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team operated in Eastern Europe. * Cold Response. Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2022

* Neptune Strike 22 started in late January with aircraft carrier USS ''Harry S. Truman'' and its battle group coming under NATO command for patrolling exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. * Cold Response 2022. 30,000 participants from 27 countries. Norwegian-led in Norway starting 14 March expected to end in April. * Iron Spear (8 May—11 May). Hosted in Latvia, 15 teams of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from seven countries take part in an exercise to demonstrate NATO firepower and interoperability. * BALTOPS 2022 (51st exercise): 5–17 June. 16 participating nations include Finland and Sweden. * Northern Coasts (29 August—28 September): military exercise led by the
German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...
. * Steadfast Noon (17 October—30 October). NATO nuclear deterrence exercise involving 14 countries and up to 60 aircraft of various types, including fourth and fifth generation fighter jets, as well as surveillance and tanker aircraft. As in previous years, US B-52 long-range bombers will take part; this year, they will fly from Minot Air Base in North Dakota. Training flights will take place over Belgium, which is hosting the exercise, as well as over the North Sea and the United Kingdom.


2023

* Air Defender 23: 12−23 June 2023.Bundeswehr.d
Air Defender 2023
/ref> *Saber Junction 2023: 6–16 September 2023. * Northern Coasts 23: 11–24 September 2023.


2024

* Steadfast Defender 2024: January−May 2024.Alice Hancoc
(10 Sep 2023) NATO to launch the biggest military exercise since Cold War
"Alliance plans to assemble 41,000 troops next year to test readiness to repel a Russian invasion"
Officials said Steadfast Defender 2024 is the largest exercise since Exercise Reforger in 1988. ** Nordic Response 2024: March, Norway. **Dragon 2024: February−March 2024, Poland. ** Swift Response 2024: Summer time, Romania. **Quadriga 2024: May, Lithuania. *Dynamic Front 25: Large-scale multinational field artillery exercise, November 2024. Held in multiple locations across Europe, including Finland, Estonia, Germany, Poland and Romania, Dynamic Front is the largest iteration of the exercise to date.


2025

* Arctic Challenge Exercise 2025: summer time. * Exercise Hedgehog 2025: spring time.


References

{{North Atlantic Treaty Organization