Military personnel will gather on the north coast of Scotland next week for one of the biggest Nato exercises in decades.
Warships, submarines and aircrafts will descend on the North Sea on Monday to begin Exercise Joint Warrior.
More than 7,000 personnel from 14 Nato countries will climb aboard a host of vessels including aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, destroyers, frigates, patrol vessels, minehunters, submarines, and auxiliaries.
Jets to be seen in North Sea Wargames
Around 100 fast jets and 30 helicopters will also be involved, supported by surveillance, patrol, and air-to-air refuelling aircraft throughout.
Nations participating in the joint operation, include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Operations will end next Sunday (March 3) as teams move to the Norway coastline for the second phase of Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024 – the largest exercise of its kind in decades.
Wargames prompt collaborative working between members
Exercises like Joint Warrior are vital tools which allow the NATO Allied nations to work and train together in a realistic, but controlled environment. Military personnel have the opportunity to hone their skills and test the latest technologies in order to better protect Nato communities from ballistic missile threats.
Planned by Joint Training and Exercise Planning Staff (JTEPS), this year the exercise will be coordinated and controlled from the Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, Norway.
Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024 is the largest Nato exercise in decades, during which the Alliance will demonstrate its ability to reinforce the Euro-Atlantic area via trans-Atlantic movement of forces from North America.
Exercise planning staff have liaised with a wide variety of communities and organisations ahead of the exercise to minimise the impact of military activity.
