Why it’s critical for NATO to exercise

“The invasion to Ukraine of Russia underlined again that you need to have capable forces, combat-ready.” Learn why long-planned military drills continue across the Alliance in a changing security environment. To improve readiness, capability and interoperability, NATO regularly conducts exercises, testing forces in the air, on land and at sea to make sure they are able to face all possible scenarios. Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has changed the face of European security and underlined the need for combat-ready forces to be able to deploy at speed across NATO Allied territory. Military exercises such as Cold Response and Brilliant Jump, which took place in the Arctic, are long-planned training exercises that enable troops to practise their skills in sub-zero temperatures on difficult terrain. More than 30,000 troops from 27 NATO Allies and partners took part in Cold Response ‘22 in Norway in March.