NATO’s annual nuclear deterrence exercise, Steadfast Noon, took place October 13-24 with 71 aircraft from 14 nations taking part, officials from the Western military alliance said. Hosted by the Netherlands, the exercise “sends a clear signal to any potential adversary that we will and can protect and defend all allies against all threats,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said. Rutte made his remarks in an October 10 video message recorded at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands.
Bases at Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Lakenheath in the United Kingdom and Skrydstrup in Denmark also were involved, NATO said. “We need to do this because it helps us to make sure that our nuclear deterrent remains as credible, and as safe, and as secure, and as effective as possible,” Rutte said. The exercise does not use nuclear weapons but simulates scenarios in which they could be used, NATO officials said. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials have at times warned of the danger of nuclear confrontation with NATO, which has condemned such rhetoric as irresponsible.
In recent weeks, however, nuclear tensions have cooled. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to maintain for one year the limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons set out in the New START Treaty, which expires in February 2026.
Jim Stokes, NATO’s director of nuclear policy, told reporters at alliance headquarters in Brussels that Steadfast Noon was “routine” and “not directed at any country.”