October 10, 2025 – Web Desk
Brussels: NATO will launch its annual nuclear deterrence exercise, Steadfast Noon, next week, hosted by the Netherlands, with participation from 71 aircraft across 14 member nations, alliance officials announced on Friday.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized the exercise’s importance, stating, “It sends a clear signal to any potential adversary that we will and can protect and defend all allies against all threats.” Rutte delivered his remarks in a video message from Volkel airbase, the primary host of this year’s drill.
Additional bases involved include Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, and Skrydstrup in Denmark, according to NATO.
Rutte added, “We need to do this to ensure our nuclear deterrent remains credible, safe, secure, and effective.”
While the exercise does not involve actual nuclear weapons, it simulates scenarios where they could be deployed, NATO officials clarified.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian officials have occasionally raised concerns about the risk of nuclear confrontation with NATO, rhetoric the alliance has condemned as irresponsible. However, nuclear tensions have eased recently, with Russian President Vladimir Putin proposing last month to extend the New START Treaty’s limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons for one year, as the treaty nears its expiration in February 2026.
Jim Stokes, NATO’s director of nuclear policy, told reporters at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters that Steadfast Noon is a “routine” exercise and “not directed at any country.” He further noted that it is “not linked to any real-world events.”
