With the arrival ofamphibious task group of the Navy off the coast of Norway which reaches the Army contingent based on the 2nd Alpine Regiment, already deployed on site since the beginning of February, Italian participation in the Nordic Response comes to life, part of the cycle of 15 exercise activities of the 24 Steadfast Defender which will see almost 90.000 soldiers from the 31 Allied countries and Sweden engaged in the largest NATO exercise in decades.
Approximately 1700 men and women of the Armed Forces will train in the following months together with their Alliance colleagues from the maritime areas of Northern Europe to the continental areas of Norway, Lithuania and Poland, testing and demonstrating NATO's ability to operate and exercise defense and deterrence in its area of responsibility, rapidly deploying its forces from North America and other parts of the Alliance to strengthen the defense of Europe.
The Army will provide two battle groups respectively from the brigade Taurinense and the brigade thunderbolt, a brigade-based minor complex-level unit Garibaldi to which is added a portion of the Special Forces of the 4th Alpine Parachute Regiment.
The Navy will commit 1 maritime component command, 1 attack helicopter carrier, Ship Giuseppe Garibaldi, 1 amphibious assault ship, approximately 200 soldiers from the Amphibious Landing Force at battlegroup level, helicopters and embarked surface assault vehicles, while the Air Force will contribute with C-130J aircraft.
Overall the Steadfast Defender will end on May 31, 2024.
