NATO launches its largest military exercise since the Cold War
Kyiv • UNN
NATO is launching its largest military exercise, Steadfast Defender 2024, involving about 90,000 people. The exercises, which are taking place on European territory, are intended to demonstrate NATO's operational capability and readiness.
On Monday, January 22, NATO will launch Steadfast Defender 2024, the largest military exercise in decades. About 90 thousand people will be involved in the exercises, which will last until the end of May. This was reported by DW, according to UNN.
Details
The exercise will be attended by all NATO countries and a candidate country for membership in the Alliance - Sweden.
The maneuvers will cover European territory from Norway to Romania. Reportedly, the scenario of the Steadfast Defender exercise is a Russian attack on the territory of allies, which triggers Article Five of the NATO collective defense treaty.
More than 50 ships, as well as more than 80 fighters, helicopters and drones and at least 1,100 combat vehicles will take part in Steadfast Defender 2024.
According to Supreme Allied Commander Europe Christopher Cavoli, the exercise will show that NATO can conduct and sustain complex operations on land, sea, air, cyberspace and space "for months, over thousands of kilometers, from the Far North to Central and Eastern Europe, and in all conditions.
According to Rob Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, this scale of the exercise is a demonstration of the Alliance's new readiness.
"It's a record number of troops that we can deploy and exercise on this scale, across the Alliance, across the ocean, from the United States to Europe," he said.
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The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has warned that Russia is conducting an information operation to present NATO's Steadfast Defender 2024 defense exercise as a provocation.