Spain deploys 3,000 soldiers in NATO’s largest annual exercise, held on the eastern flank

The Diplomat Spain will deploy almost 3,000 soldiers in 'Steadfast Dart 25', NATO's largest annual exercise, which takes place from 10 to 21 February on the Alliance's eastern flank, specifically in Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, with the aim of exerting a deterrent effect against any threat against allied territory. According to a statement released by the Defence Staff (EMAD) on Tuesday, ‘Steadfast Dart (STDT) 25’ is a joint exercise for the activation and deployment of the NATO Allied Reaction Force (ARF), programmed by NATO’s strategic-level command – Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), based in Mons (Belgium) – and directed, at the operational level, by the Joint Command Naples (JFCNP) in Italy. The priority objective of ‘Steadfast Dart 25’ is to test and train the operational deployment and reinforcement of the elements of the NATO Allied Reaction Force (ARF) in the Alliance’s South-East Surveillance Area in peacetime, through which NATO intends to exert a deterrent effect against any threat against allied territory. In this way, the STDT 25 exercise is the culmination of the preparation of ARF 24, and the main demonstration on the ground of its full operability. STDT25 will be the first and most visible NATO deployment exercise of 2025 to test the ARF’s response capability. In addition, this exercise tests the ability of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) to activate the ARF, coordinate its rapid strategic deployment across multiple nations to converge in time and place and achieve a deterrent effect. In this context, the exercise will focus on the planning and execution of a multi-domain pre-crisis activity, with the aim of reinforcing the Allied forces deployed in Romania, Greece and Bulgaria. During the planning process, the deployment phase of the exercise was set from 10 to 21 February, which will be the end date of SDTD25. For STDT 25, three Allied countries have been designated as host nation: Greece, which will be used as a landing seaport and where the Maritime Component Command (MCC) will deploy; Bulgaria, where the Special Operations Component Command (SOCC) —led by Spain— and part of the Air Component Command will be deployed; and, finally, Romania, which will be, mainly, the deployment zone of the Land Component Command (LCC). In the STDT25 exercise, Spain will deploy almost 3,000 soldiers distributed among the four component commands of the Alliance. In addition to this important deployment, the Spanish Joint Special Operations Command (MCOE) will lead, for the first time since its establishment, the NATO Special Operations Component for two years (until June 2026), after passing an intense evaluation of its operational capabilities. The participation of the Spanish Armed Forces consists of the deployment of 732 soldiers in the Land Component Command (LCC), which will be part of the ARF LCC Brigade, led by the United Kingdom; 1,400 soldiers in the Maritime Component Command (MCC), an amphibious group with the LHD ‘Juan Carlos I’ as flagship; and 40 soldiers from the Air Force and Space Force in the Air Component Command (together with the deployment, for a limited time, of an A400 and modules from the Air Deployment Support Squadron -EADA- of the Air Force and Space Force and personnel for the management of aeronautical fuels). In addition, Spain leads the Special Operations Component of the ARF, with the contribution of the Headquarters, as well as various operational teams and an air transport element. For the deployment phase, the Spanish units will begin the strategic movement on January 16, with the projection by sea of Army resources towards the port of Alexandropolis (Greece).

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