BRUSSELS – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is embarking on its most expansive military exercises since the Cold War era, rehearsing the potential deployment of U.S. reinforcements to allies in Eastern Europe amid rising tensions with Russia.
Dubbed “Steadfast Defender 2024,” the war games will involve around 90,000 troops carrying out drills across Europe from May through November. It represents NATO’s largest exercises since the “Reforger” drills in 1988, which saw 125,000 participants at the tail end of the Cold War standoff with the Soviet Union.
The massive exercises signify NATO’s renewed focus on collective defense capabilities after years of asymmetric warfare missions in places like Afghanistan. It also comes as relations with Russia have deteriorated to levels not seen since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“Steadfast Defender 2024 will demonstrate NATO’s ability to rapidly deploy forces from North America and other parts of the alliance to reinforce the defence of Europe,” NATO said in announcing the exercises.
Simulating Conflict With Near-Peer Adversary
The war games have been designed to simulate a conflict scenario with a “near-peer adversary,” code for Russia, which NATO now officially regards as the most significant threat to members’ security.
While NATO officials avoided calling out Russia directly, the exercises will rehearse recently approved defense plans detailing how to respond to Russian aggression against allies in Eastern Europe. Key locations for the drills include Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Over 50 warships, 80 fighter jets and helicopters, more than 100 combat vehicles and upwards of 1,100 armored vehicles will participate in mock battles and reinforcement drills across the continent. Much of the focus will be on quickly getting U.S. troops and equipment across the Atlantic to back up NATO allies.
Reinforcing Eastern Flank Against Potential Russian Aggression
The exercises represent the implementation of NATO’s new force posture plans approved at 2023’s Vilnius Summit. They end NATO’s longtime lack of detailed defense planning, reflecting the new risk environment imposed by a more aggressive Russia.
The second phase of the “Steadfast Defender” war games will concentrate on deploying NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, including a speedy dispatch of the alliance’s quick reaction force to Poland to simulate shoring up NATO’s eastern flank.
In announcing the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Vladimir Putin threatened “consequences greater than any you have faced in history” for any nation interfering in the war. The exercises come as NATO allies continue to provide military aid and equipment to Ukraine.
Sweden Joins As Aspiring NATO Member
Notable non-NATO participants in “Steadfast Defender 2024” include Sweden, which formally applied for NATO membership in May 2022 along with Finland. Their accession still requires ratification from all existing NATO members, including holdout Turkey.
In the meantime, Sweden has been granted enhanced opportunities for cooperation after signing a joint declaration with NATO. Its participation will strengthen interoperability in the event that its bid for entry into the alliance succeeds.
The extensive war games demonstrate that nearly a year into the Ukraine war, NATO remains vigilant against potential Russian threats beyond Ukraine’s borders. While not engineering the exercises as a direct response, the alliance is making clear its readiness to defend allied territory as tensions between East and West approach Cold War peaks.
