NATO's largest exercise, Exercise 2025, has concluded, involving more than 10.000 troops from nine nationalities in a joint sea, air and land exercise, engaged on the Eastern Front to demonstrate NATO's ability to rapidly deploy forces from Europe to the East.
The exercises were conducted in February in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania to demonstrate NATO's responsiveness in providing significant deterrent effects.
The operations conducted by the ARF (Allied Reaction Force), introduced in 2024 as part of the new NATO force model, will be under Italian leadership for the next four years. A task of importance and prestige for our armed forces and for the country's commitment to NATO.
This force provides the Alliance with a strategic capability, delivered through a multi-domain approach covering the five domains of strategic defence (land, air, naval, space and cyber) and which can be deployed and employed immediately upon order of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) to strengthen deterrence in times of peace and crisis and to support the defence of the Alliance.
The exercise in Romania
The final exercise in Romania, at Smârdan, about 20 km from the Ukrainian border, saw the men and land and air reaction vehicles engaged, under the guidance of the British contingent, for a rapid reaction, but also to demonstrate the firepower of the allied forces.
In particular, in Smârdan, the snipers of the 151st Royal Regiment of Scotland, together with their NATO counterparts, engaged in live fire and trench warfare training in difficult conditions. During the simulated attack, they demonstrated their capabilities and dexterity.
The distinctive element that concluded the exercise was the sound of the bagpipes of theIntelligence Corps of the British Army, who accompanied the maneuvers in the field.
General D'Addario's comment
“The exercise marks the culmination of the training we have been conducting for months, sometimes by components, to deploy and become operational, coming from different parts of Europe and working together to be able to bring the traction capacity in a very short time” - explained General Lorenzo D'Addario in the press conference at the conclusion of the NATO Steadfast 2025 exercises in Romania. “This exercise is a major deterrent activity for the defense of the Alliance.
Our command was born in 2001, it involves 19 nations and, specifically, the ARF force command, from July 2024, XNUMX, is in Solbiate Olona, near Varese. We have components that rotate between various nations; at this moment, for example, the naval component comes from the Taranto division. All these forces, in each domain, work together, train and prepare to be able to be employed in a very short time.
In the event of a threat, there are some components that are ready in a few days and, above all, it is relevant that there are air, naval, land, space and cyber components, which no longer function without each other and must learn to work in synergy to bring effects and capabilities to mutual advantage, always maintaining superiority.
This is a force placed directly under the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, General Christopher G. Cavoli, and we must note that exercises, like training and operational modes, are affected by changes in technology. There is, therefore, a constant need to work together, as each component brings experiences and innovations that are shared and integrated to advance.
NATO must continue to train, as it is essential to remain faithful to our mission: to defend the Alliance and always be ready to do so.
The best thing for us soldiers is to continue to improve and train.”.
The numbers
- Participation of 10.000 men from 9 allies: Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Türkiye, United Kingdom.
- Air, land, sea and special operations forces involved.
- 17 naval units, including amphibious landing ships, frigates, minesweepers, destroyers and submarines.
- Over 20 aircraft, including EF2000, F-16, AV-8B Harrier, A400.
- Over 1.500 military vehicles, including tanks, rocket launchers, self-propelled artillery, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and armored personnel carriers (APCs).
Images: Online Defense
