NATO secretary general on Wednesday updated information on the upcoming Trident Juncture 2018 drills, announcing that 250 aircraft, instead of the initially planned 150 jets, will be involved in the exercises, which are due to start on October 25.
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2018) NATO secretary general on Wednesday updated information on the upcoming Trident Juncture 2018 drills, announcing that 250 aircraft, instead of the initially planned 150 jets, will be involved in the exercises, which are due to start on October 25.
"Trident Juncture is NATO's biggest exercise since the end of the Cold War. It is ambitious and it is demanding ... Trident Juncture will include around: 65 ships; 250 aircraft; 10,000 vehicles and 50,000 personnel. All 29 NATO Allies will participate, as well as our partners Finland and Sweden," Stoltenberg said at a briefing.
Stoltenberg stressed that the exercises were a response to the security environment in Europe that had "significantly deteriorated" over recent years.
"NATO has responded. With the biggest adaptation of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War. Trident Juncture demonstrates that adaptation. The scenario is fictitious, but the lessons we learn will be real," he said.
According to the NATO chief, the drills "will test our readiness to restore the sovereignty of an ally - in this case, Norway - after an act of armed aggression."
"So Trident Juncture sends a clear message to our nations and to any potential adversary. NATO does not seek confrontation. But we stand ready to defend all allies against any threat," he added.
Trident Juncture 18 will take place in Norway and surrounding areas of the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea, including Iceland, and the airspace of Finland and Sweden from October 25 to November 23.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier on Wednesday that the scale of NATO's operations and combat training next to Russian borders was expanding, citing the upcoming drills as an example.
