• Last updated: 08 Mar. 2024 13:22

Steadfast Defender 24

Steadfast Defender 24 is NATO's largest military exercise since the Cold War. It demonstrates the unbreakable bond between NATO Allies in Europe and North America, who have kept over one billion people safe for 75 years.

Banner - Steadfast Defender 24
 
Who

WHO

Over 90,000 troops from all 32 NATO Allies
What

WHAT

North American troops crossing the Atlantic, moving across Europe and exercising with European forces
when

WHEN

From January to May 2024
where

WHERE

The first part of the exercise focuses on securing the Atlantic up to the Arctic; the second part focuses on moving troops across Europe, from the High North to Central and Eastern Europe
Why

WHY

To demonstrate NATO's ability to defend every inch of its territory, and the commitment by NATO Allies to protect each other from any threat
 

Steadfast Defender 2024 will be a clear demonstration of our unity, strength and determination to protect each other, our values and the rules-based international order.

- General Christopher G. Cavoli
Supreme Allied Commander Europe

 

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By the numbers

Click through the gallery to discover the vehicles and troops participating in Steadfast Defender 24.

  • F35
    • 80+ air platforms including F35s, FA18s, Harriers, F15s, helicopters and drones

  • warship HMS Prince of Wales
    • 50+ ships including aircraft carriers, frigates, corvettes and destroyers
  • combat vehicles
    • 1,100+ combat vehicles including 166 tanks, 533 infantry fighting vehicles and 417 armoured personnel carriers
  • Troops in the snow
    • 90,000 troops from 32 NATO Allies, representing all military branches – army, navy, air force, marines and special operations forces
 

 

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*Dates may be subject to change.

 

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History of NATO exercises

NATO was founded in 1949. It held its first military exercises in the autumn of 1951. These exercises trained and tested the Alliance’s newly created multinational military structures, helping NATO forces develop from a collection of national units to an integrated military force under a single centralised command.

Since then, NATO has held thousands of exercises across multiple domains – including air, land, maritime and cyberspace. Throughout the Cold War, NATO maintained a very active exercise programme to train forces in as many demanding scenarios as possible. This included the REFORGER series of exercises, which – like Steadfast Defender 24 – tested the ability of North American troops to rapidly deploy to Europe (the word “ReForGer” stood for “Return of Forces to Germany”). The last exercise on a similar scale to Steadfast Defender 24 was REFORGER 88, with 125,000 participating personnel.

Since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO has increased the number of exercises that focus on collective defence scenarios. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Allies have further strengthened NATO’s deterrence and defence, creating the most comprehensive defence plans since the end of the Cold War. Steadfast Defender 24 is the first large-scale NATO exercise to put these new defence plans into action.

 

  • 1964 - Exercise Northern Express, Norway 1964 - Exercise Northern Express, Norway, June 1964
  • 1965 - British Army tank in West Germany 1965 - British Army tank in West Germany
  • 1974 - Helicopter airlifts army during jeep artillery training in Elienborn 1974 - Helicopter airlifts jeep during artillery training, May 1974
  • 1975 - Troops rest during Exercise Reforger 75 at Ramstein, Germany 1975 - Troops rest during Exercise Reforger 75 at Ramstein, Germany
  • 1979 - Kid eating chocolates in a tank during exercise Certain Sentinel, part of Reforger 79 in Germany 1979 - Kid eating chocolates in a tank during exercise Certain Sentinel, part of Reforger 79 in Germany, Feb. 1979
  • 1980 - Italian Alpine troops blow horns at NATO HQ 1980 - Italian Alpine troops blow horns at NATO HQ, September 1980
  • 1985 - Soldiers in REFORGER 85, 11 January 1985 (Dutch National Archives) 1985 - Soldiers in REFORGER 85, 11 January 1985 (Dutch National Archives)
  • 1986 - Luxembourg forces train together 1986 - Luxembourg forces train together, 1 March 1986
  • 1992 - Crew admire snowman they built during exercise Teamwork, 25 March 1992 1992 - Crew admire snowman they built during exercise Teamwork, 25 March 1992 (US National Archives)
 

 


NATO exercise or NOT an exercise? Take the quiz

NATO exercises are normally identified by two words – the first word shows the NATO command responsible for scheduling the exercise, and the second word indicates the domain of the exercise (air, land, maritime, etc.). Some unusual combinations of words have been used over the years.

Can you tell which of the following are real historical NATO exercises ?

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Steadfast Defender 24 resources


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