The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will begin its annual nuclear exercise on Monday in western Europe.
Named ‘Steadfast Noon’, the nuclear exercise will see the active participation of more than 60 aircraft in training flights for a period of two weeks.
All the aircraft taking part in the Steadfast Noon exercise are fighter jets capable of carrying the United States’ nuclear warheads. However, no live weapons will be used during the tenure of the exercise.
The exercise is usually a routine training affair, but what makes it more interesting this time is that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has resulted in nuclear threats being issued from the Kremlin.
NATO’s nuclear exercise
The nuclear exercise conducted by NATO is an annual affair and usually takes place in October. This time, the exercise will involve 2,000 military personnel from eight airbases and a variety of aircraft types, including nuclear-capable jets, bombers, fighter escorts, refueling aircraft, and planes capable of reconnaissance and electronic warfare.
This year’s exercise involves flights mainly over host countries Belgium and the Netherlands and in airspace over Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the North Sea, according to a press release by the organization .
According to NATO, thirteen of its allies are sending their aircraft to take part in the drills this year.
The planning began almost a year ago, and the aircraft will participate in various exercises over the next few days to prove their skills and combat readiness.
“Nuclear deterrence is the cornerstone of Allied security,” said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “Steadfast Noon is an important test of the Alliance’s nuclear deterrent and sends a clear message to any adversary that NATO will protect and defend all Allies.”
The exercises are an effort by NATO to ensure the safety, security, effectiveness, and credibility of the Alliance’s nuclear deterrent.
Earlier this year, the first Allied F-35A fighter aircraft from the Netherlands were declared ready to perform nuclear roles.
Kremlin’s response
The Kremlin has accused NATO of fueling tensions by holding the exercise involving nuclear-capable military aircraft. This comes after reports of Russian President Vladimir Putin changing his country’s nuclear doctrine amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.
“In the conditions of a hot war, which is going on within the framework of the Ukrainian conflict, such exercises lead to nothing but further escalation of tension,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had told reporters, according to a report by Reuters .
Peskov also stated that the involvement of Western countries in its fight against Ukraine makes it very difficult for Moscow to organize talks over nuclear weapons with the US and its allies.
“It is absolutely impossible to talk about this without linking the issue to all other aspects of security,” Peskov has been quoted as saying.
Earlier this year, Putin had proposed changes to the country’s 2020 nuclear doctrine to expand the list of states and alliances against which deterrence can be carried out.
The proposal was to make the doctrine more nuanced so that any help given from a nuclear-armed country to a non-nuclear weapon-possessing country (like Ukraine) would be considered a double threat.
Moreover, even the use of hypersonic missiles and ballistic missiles for attacks inside Russia by enemy states can be justified under the proposed doctrine changes for Russian retaliation using nuclear weapons.
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