A large-scale military exercise Steadfast Defender 2021 will take place from May 20 to June 22, involving more than 20 NATO allies and partners from North America and Europe.NATO to hold large-scale exercise on border with Russia
The exercise will test NATO’s readiness and military mobility. Troops will reportedly be deployed from North America to the Black Sea region and off the coast of Portugal.
“The exercise with more than 9,000 troops demonstrates that NATO has the capability and determination to defend all allies against any threat”, – said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Steadfast Defender 2021 is the first large-scale test of NATO’s adapted command structure, involving two new commands – Joint Support Command, based in Ulm, Germany, and Joint Force Command Norfolk, based in the United States.
The first phase will include a maritime battle exercise involving some 5,000 troops and 18 ships, including a British carrier strike group led by the newest aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, the command part of the exercise will take place in Ulm to co-ordinate the rapid movement of Allied forces and equipment across European borders, involving some 300 personnel.
In late May, under the auspices of Steadfast Defender 2021, a Turkey-led Joint Rapid Response Team will be deployed to Romania. Around 4,000 troops from 12 countries will be involved.
We shall remind you that Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu earlier said that NATO had significantly increased its military activity near Russia’s southern borders. The defence minister stressed that Moscow was closely monitoring the redeployment of NATO troops to the area of the upcoming Defender Europe 2021 exercise.