The NATO Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) has launched a new five-year campaign plan intended to guide its work on training, exercises and warfare development through to 2030.
The plan, titled The JWC Campaign Plan 2026–2030, was launched on 26 January in Stavanger, Norway, and is intended to provide a framework for synchronising activities, managing transformation and institutionalising innovation as NATO adapts to what it described as an increasingly complex security environment.
Major General Ruprecht von Butler, Commander of the JWC, said the document sets a unified direction for the command’s future role within the Alliance. “The JWC Campaign Plan sets a unified direction for transforming the JWC into the Alliance’s central enabler for warfare development and training of operational and strategic headquarters,” he said.
NATO said the plan outlines five strategic objectives: delivering high-quality multi-domain exercises, driving warfare development from Allied Command Transformation concepts into Allied Command Operations execution, informing future Alliance direction through testing of NATO defence plans, developing a modern digitally enabled workforce, and strengthening the command’s reputation through institutional excellence.
According to NATO, the plan is also designed to improve alignment with the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept, NATO’s Warfare Development Agenda, a new Campaign Approach to Exercises, and the Audacious Training Initiative. The JWC supports both Allied Command Transformation and Allied Command Operations, with NATO describing it as a key link between warfare development and warfighting readiness.
NATO said the campaign plan reflects a shift in Alliance training away from headquarters-based process drills toward a more theatre-wide and strategically integrated model that tests real-world operational plans and emerging concepts using increased realism, agility and new technologies. Planned priorities include the development of a combined opposing forces capability, deeper use of modelling and simulation, and improved digital infrastructure, including the integration of AI-enabled tools.
Von Butler said the plan is intended to ensure the organisation remains prepared for evolving demands. “We have developed the Campaign Plan to ensure our command is fully prepared for the accelerating complexity of modern warfare. It will position the JWC for future opportunities as we continue to provide the link between emerging concepts, real-word observations and operational readiness,” he said.
He added: “To meet this demand, the JWC must expand its exercise spectrum, shorten planning timelines, integrate military and multi-domain effects, evolve its organizational structure and fully adopt digital ways of working.”
NATO said the JWC began amending its exercise planning processes in March 2025 under a “new ways of working” initiative aimed at improving resource management, increasing ownership in exercises and supporting digital transformation. The organisation is also preparing to implement a new trial structure in February.
Do I not recall that MOD plans to reduce training outside of the UK?