NATO’s annual nuclear deterrence exercise begins on Tuesday and is being hosted by Italy this year, with seventeen nations taking part, according to the alliance.
Steadfast Noon is described as a long-planned, routine training activity, part of the effort to maintain readiness and test the procedures that contribute to deterrence and defence. The overall scale is in line with previous iterations, and no live weapons are used at any point.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said: “NATO is a defensive Alliance. This exercise helps us ensure a safe, secure, effective, and credible capability to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression. It also sends a clear message of unity and resolve.”
The alliance adds that the exercise is not linked to current world events and is not directed against any country.
Flying is expected to run from Aviano in Pordenone province and Ghedi in Brescia province, along with other locations across the area of responsibility, over roughly ten days, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. Aviano hosts United States Air Force units, and Ghedi is an Italian Air Force base operating the F-35A.
Seventeen participating nations is an increase on the fourteen that took part last year and the thirteen the year before. France does not take part, having never joined NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group, and the United States contributes flight crews and maintenance personnel.
Last year’s edition was led by the Netherlands from Volkel, supported by Kleine Brogel in Belgium and RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, and drew around seventy aircraft from fourteen allied nations across a mix of conventional and dual-capable types. Italy has hosted the exercise six times before, in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2021 and 2023.
The Italian Air Force has said that no live ammunition is to be used.
