Steadfast Defender 2024:
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) started its largest military exercise in Europe, the Steadfast Defender 2024, recently.
- Steadfast Defender 2024 is NATO’s most extensive military exercise since the Cold War era.
- It involves 90,000 forces from 31 member countries and NATO partner Sweden and is conducted across various NATO nations.
- The exercise will feature an impressive array of military hardware, including over 50 naval vessels ranging from aircraft carriers to destroyers, and a formidable air contingent of more than 80 units comprising fighter jets, helicopters, and drones.
- The ground forces are equally robust, with at least 1,100 combat vehicles, including 133 tanks and 533 infantry fighting vehicles, demonstrating NATO’s ground capabilities.
- The purpose of Steadfast Defender 2024 is to put NATO’s new regional defense plans to the test.
- These plans, the first of their kind in decades, outline the alliance’s response mechanisms to potential threats, notably addressing concerns regarding Russian aggression.
