The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has started its annual exercises to train in defending member states’ territories using nuclear weapons.

On Monday, NATO announced that about two thousand military personnel will participate in the “Steadfast Noon” exercises over the next two weeks.

Approximately 70 aircraft will take part in the air drills, including German fighter jets capable of carrying US nuclear bombs stationed in Europe.

This year’s exercises are mainly scheduled to take place in the airspace over the North Sea.

The Dutch airbase in Volkel, military bases in Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Lakenheath in England, and Skrydstrup in Denmark are also expected to play key roles.

NATO stated that the German armed forces will participate with 3 Tornado jets equipped to drop US nuclear bombs and 4 Eurofighter jets for the exercises.

Unknown Drones

In a related context, the intrusion of unknown drones into the airspace of nine European countries prompted NATO to conduct extensive military exercises days ago, covering air, land, sea, and cyber domains, involving F-35 and Typhoon fighter jets.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the phenomenon as a deliberate “gray zone war” on Europe, announcing a plan to build a technical barrier by 2030 to detect and destroy drones.

Germany approved a law allowing police to shoot down unknown drones, while European countries accuse Russia of responsibility, which Moscow denies.