By Mr. Maverick
“What is this? 1988?” I still remember that that was the question that popped into my head a couple of months ago, as I was running through the headlines on my way to work. Funnily enough, I remember it was the day right after the 2024 NBA dunk contest. But no, by “1988” I wasn’t thinking about the GOAT dunk duel between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins (boy, what a show that was).
Without Google’s help, right now, can you think of any military exercise going on, either in your country or abroad? Probably not. If you do, bravo. You’re certainly an outlier. I think that we can all agree that most military exercises usually go under-the-radar in the daily media reporting. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes inadvertently. Today, however, the completion of NATO’s ‘Exercise Steadfast Defender 24’ stands out as an exception, marking a pivotal moment that certainly deserves some spotlight. I’m sure you’re wondering why. Let’s jump right into it.
First of all we have scale. Steadfast Defender 24 is NATO’s largest military exercise since the Cold War, or, since the last REFORGER exercise in 1988 according to officials. Second of all, we have breadth. Since the Cold War, we have witnessed an exponential enlargement of NATO, with the accession of 16 countries since 1990. Therefore, notwithstanding the substantial difference in absolute numbers regarding participating personnel (REFORGER 88: 120000, Steadfast Defender 24: 90000), given the advances in conventional weapons, let alone the number of countries involved, the exercise must certainly be the largest in the history of the alliance.
At its core, the exercise is a demonstration of unity and determination of the Alliance to defend every inch of NATO territory. The exercise took place primarily in Finland, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom, officials said. There were more than 50 naval assets, including aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes. Air assets included F-35s, FA-18s, Harriers, F-15s, helicopters and myriad unmanned aerial vehicles. There were also more than 1,100 combat vehicles, including more than 150 tanks, 500 infantry fighting vehicles and 400 armored personnel carriers.
Finally, the exercise incorporated defense plans based on Russia’s existing, and not threatened, aggression. Russia launched in 2022 the largest war in Europe since World War II, a crucial difference that we have to factor in when we compare this exercise with any other one, not to mention exercises of the Cold War era. And, on top of that, this display of perseverance and oneness follows a flagrantly scathing remark, made by the French President a few years ago, when he warned in 2019 that NATO is “brain-dead”.
At this critical juncture, the exercise Steadfast Defender 24 is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with. The North Atlantic Alliance flexed its muscles and marked its presence in the European continent in the clearest possible way, by putting into action its new defense plans for the first time and awakening the memory of a real force of deterrence.
Following the latest developments, it seems as if the West wants to intensify its efforts to put the Russian bear in an even tighter spot. In that case, are we in line for a certainly distressful and regrettable “dunk duel” at the heart of the continent?
