Hundreds of Belgian military personnel join troops from other NATO countries next week in one of the alliance's biggest military exercises since the Cold War.
According to Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder, Belgium will participate with "several hundred land, air and sea troops, and with the Special Operations Regiment (SOR, an elite unit including para-commandos and special forces) in an American exercise in one of the Baltic states."
A motorized company from the Land Component will also be involved in a German exercise, and F-16 fighter jets and a frigate - the F931 Louise-Marie - in a British exercise, Ms. Dedonder said on Thursday. The same frigate will also take part in a Norwegian exercise, she explained at a plenary session of the Chamber, in response to a question from legislator François De Smet.
The Defence Minister stressed that this type of exercise was very important for Belgium, which, thanks to its strategic position as a transit nation, also plays a central role in military mobility in Europe.
The months-long exercise, named ‘Steadfast Defender,' is set to be the alliance's biggest military drill in decades. It will be a "clear demonstration of our unity, strength and resolve to protect each other,” said General Christopher Cavoli, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
The NATO Military Committee, the highest military authority within the Atlantic Alliance, met for two days in Brussels this week to discuss the operation.
Preparations for the unprecedented exercise began last year. Its significance lies in its sheer size: 90,000 military personnel from 31 NATO countries and partner nations, a considerable increase from the previously cited figure of 40,000. It will continue until May, and includes the movement of troops across the Atlantic, some of which are expected to pass through Belgium.
Military sources suggest that the scenario for Steadfast Defender simulates a potential attack by Russia, which invaded Ukraine on 22 February 2022. Such an attack would trigger the activation of Article 5 of the NATO foundational treaty, which states that an attack on one is an attack on all.
NATO's largest recent exercise dates back to October 2018 - after Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, but before the invasion of Ukraine. Called Trident Juncture, that exercise brought together some 50,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors from 29 allied countries, plus Sweden and Finland.
