Exercise Formidable Shield 2025 is NATO’s premier live-fire training exercise, designed to test and enhance integrated air and missile defence capabilities.
Conducted every two years, it brings together naval, air, and land units from multiple allied nations. The exercise primarily takes place at the QinetiQ-operated Ministry of Defence Hebrides range in Scotland. As the technical lead and primary host, QinetiQ plays a central role in providing the infrastructure, targets, and support essential to the exercise’s success.
Formidable Shield 2025, running from May 1 to 31, is the largest live-fire naval exercise in Europe. Led by the United States Sixth Fleet with the coordination of Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), it is conducted primarily at the Hebrides Range in Scotland, with an initial phase taking place at the Andøya range in Norway. The exercise features a series of complex Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) and Air Defence (AD) missions within a challenging multi-domain environment. Anderson noted: “It is probably the largest multinational live fire event that happens in the world.”
During the exercise, naval operations are supported by land and air domains. Air assets include Eurofighters from the United Kingdom and Maritime Patrol Aircraft from the United Kingdom and the United States.
A key feature is the forward deployment of NATO’s Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) to provide command, control, and coordination support.
QinetiQ’s role in Formidable Shield is comprehensive, encompassing everything from range management to the provision of aerial and missile targets. The company’s Hebrides range offers a vast, instrumented environment that facilitates realistic simulations, ensuring that every aspect of the exercise is safely and effectively executed.
During a recent media briefing, James Anderson from QinetiQ discussed the scale and complexity of the exercise: “Early next week, we will be delivering clearing 1 million [square kilometres] – something about four, four and a half times the size of the UK.”
Anderson said that the integrated nature of the exercise has increased significantly: “We’re seeing a significant increase in that multi-domain element of the exercise.” This year, Formidable Shield features a more coordinated approach between land, sea, and air assets, reflecting the evolving nature of global threats.
I asked Anderson whether the situation in the Red Sea had influenced the scenario design for Exercise Formidable Shield. Anderson acknowledged that while specific scenarios from the Red Sea aren’t directly replicated, the exercise planning does take into account representative threat scenarios to ensure realistic mission rehearsal. “They try and keep them represented for mission rehearsal purposes. So Representative threat scenarios, we do not try and exactly replicate a situation that has gone on,” he explained.
A notable addition this year is the involvement of ground forces. Anderson explained: “The US Army has already fired, using HIMARS systems, marking the first time in 40 years that the US Army has fired anything from the UK.”
QinetiQ’s contributions extend beyond logistical management. The company provides high-tech radar systems, real-time telemetry, and a range of aerial and missile targets. These include subsonic, supersonic, and ballistic missile targets that challenge participating units to respond effectively under realistic conditions. Anderson explained: “We are not just testing individual systems, but their interoperability and how they function as part of an integrated defence network.”
Anderson also noted the critical importance of practising ballistic missile defence (BMD) in a realistic environment, saying: “Formidable Shield is seen as a significant contributor to NATO BMD. There is nowhere else NATO BMD can rehearse, test, and trial the capabilities that we really need to deliver in theatre with the growing threat.”
A key aspect of QinetiQ’s role is ensuring safety across a massive operational area. Anderson described the collaborative efforts required to maintain secure airspace: “That clearance needs to come from P8s from NATO and from the Americans to support that range clearance that we need to do.”
A unique feature of the exercise is the use of ‘trusted agents’ on board ships, who are linked to the safety case and aware of the exact timing of incoming threats. Anderson elaborated: “Most of the ships don’t know when it’s coming. There are trusted agents on board who know and are linked into the safety case. Most of the operational crews, especially those doing full mission rehearsal rather than engineering testing, do not know it’s coming.”
Discussing the planning involved, Anderson said: “When it comes to live fire events like this, you can’t leave it all unscripted. It’d be great to have a completely unscripted mission rehearsal exercise, but actually the exercise design… is heavily supported right the way through.”
Exercise Formidable Shield 2025 exemplifies NATO’s commitment to maintaining a robust and responsive integrated air and missile defence capability. As the primary technical partner, QinetiQ’s expertise in managing the Hebrides range, providing complex target systems, and coordinating multi-domain activities is essential to the exercise’s continued success.
