Steadfast Defender 2021
Steadfast Defender 2021 is a NATO-led exercise designed to ensure that our forces are trained, able to operate together and ready to respond to any threat from any direction. It demonstrates the value of North America and Europe working together to keep our nations safe in a challenging security environment.
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Exercise Steadfast Defender 2021 will test NATO's readiness and military mobility – with forces deploying across land and sea, all the way from North America to the Black Sea region and off the coast of Portugal. With over 9,000 troops from more than 20 Allies and partners, the exercise demonstrates that NATO has the capabilities and the resolve to protect all Allies against any threat.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
Explore the exercise
Regular exercises allow NATO and partners to train together, identifying what works and what needs improving. Exercises are defensive, proportionate and announced months in advance. NATO Allies respect the transparency obligations under the OSCE Vienna Document.
NATO exercise or NOT an exercise?
Take the quiz
Steadfast Defender 2021 and other exercises help NATO forces prepare to protect each other on land, at sea, in the air and in cyberspace. They also have some pretty unique names! At the present time, NATO exercises are identified by two words – the first word shows the NATO command responsible for scheduling the exercise, and the second word indicates the domain of the exercise (air, land, maritime, etc.).
Can you tell which of the following are real NATO exercises and which ones we made up?
Steadfast Defender 2021 resources
- NATO Multimedia Portal – download b-roll and stories from Steadfast Defender 2021 and associated exercises
- DVIDS – explore multimedia content from the exercise
- SHAPE – learn more about Steadfast Defender 2021 from NATO's Allied Command Operations
- Twitter – join the conversation on #SteadfastDefender21
- Flickr – see photos from the exercise
- YouTube – Steadfast Defender 2021 playlist
- NATO exercises
- NATO and collective defence
- NATO and transparency
- NATO Response Force
- Deterrence and defence