La Joint Stars 2024, which ended last November 30, was the most important Italian joint force exercise ever carried out. Organised by the operational command of interforce forces (COVI) and inaugurated on November 11, ended at the naval station “Mar Grande” in Taranto and the air base of Poggio Renatico.
La Joint Stars 2024, now in its sixth edition, was a significant event that should not be underestimated in a complex international framework, characterised by tensions arising from the conflict in Ukraine, by renewed instability in the Middle East and North Africa, in addition (if there was ever a need) to growing asymmetric and cyber threats.
Italy, strategically located in the Mediterranean, is a point of reference for NATO's southern flank. The exercise aimed to consolidate the Armed Forces' ability to plan and conduct joint and multinational operations, while strengthening operational readiness and integration between the different domains: land, sea, air, space and cyber.
The watchword for 2024: “deterrence”
The peculiarity of Joint Stars lies in its ability to simulate complex collective defense and management scenarios escalationThe exercise was based on a fictitious operation called “Esmeralda Defender”, in which the ccombined janointed task force (CJTF), commanded by Air Force General Achille Fernando Cazzaniga (photo), had to repel the simulated invasion of an aggressor, “Trinacrium”, against an allied country, “Carbonium”. This scenario, which also included the presence of an armed group with ethnic ambitions, the “Temis Liberation Army”, faithfully reproduced today's security challenges.
With approximately 600 participants, including members of the Italian Armed Forces and students from prestigious universities such as Sant'Anna in Pisa, LUISS, LUMSA and the University of Genoa, the Joint Stars 2024 tested the commands' ability to operate in multi-domain environments.
The exercise, conducted entirely in English, has allowed the application of NATO methodologies and procedures, confirming Italy's active and conscious contribution to regional and international stability.
La Joint Stars is a cummand pcheese exercise (CPX), which alternates, in even years, command level exercises and, in odd years, LIVEX field exercises (live exercise). This cyclical approach allows to optimize the training of the commands and to verify the defense plans, ensuring a constant interoperability between the national and allied Armed Forces.
The event was attended by officers from NATO countries such as the United States, France and Poland, but also from partner nations in the Southern Mediterranean such as Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.
This multinational dimension testifies to the importance of Italy as a bridge between Europe and the Mediterranean.
During the dinstigated visitors day, the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Luciano Portolano, underlined the deterrent value of JOST24: “Through this exercise, we are able to translate political-military guidelines into concrete operations, ensuring security and stability”.
General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, commander of COVI, added: “Joint, multi-domain and integration are the key words to face current and future challenges.”
La Joint Stars 2024 It confirms itself as a central element for the Italian and NATO defense strategy, contributing decisively to collective deterrence and the ability to respond to crises.
For Italy, the exercise is not only a test of operational capabilities, but also a concrete demonstration of the desire to be a reliable and – we hope – increasingly proactive partner within the Atlantic Alliance.
Images: Defense Online / Ministry of Defense
