Allied Command Operations (ACO) officially launched NATO exercise Steadfast Dart 2026 across Central Europe, Jan. 15.
Steadfast Dart 2026 marks the second overall deployment of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF), but its first within the area of responsibility of Joint Force Command Brunssum, who will lead the exercise. The exercise will demonstrate the operational and strategic capabilities of the NATO force and other participating units, integrating land, air, space, cyber, maritime, and special operations forces.
“Last year, Steadfast Dart incorporated the first deployment of NATO’s new Allied Reaction Force, demonstrating Allied Command Operations’ ability to respond at a moment’s notice to an emergent threat to our Alliance,” said U.S. Air Force General Alexus G. Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe. “This year’s exercise builds upon that success and will again demonstrate NATO’s responsiveness, as well as its strength, in what will arguably be one of NATO’s most visible exercises this year, with forces on the land, at sea, and in the air, who will operate in all domains.”
The exercise consists of two major phases, a deployment phase, and a training phase. The deployment phase began earlier this month, and the training phase begins next month. Both phases will occur during a simulated conflict scenario involving a near-peer adversary and will show that the ARF and other participating forces can conduct and sustain complex operations across multiple locations in Central Europe, particularly in Germany. There, the NATO exercise will flow directly into Quadriga, a German employment exercise.
Joint Force Command Brunssum has planned the exercise in close coordination with Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) over the last two years.
“Steadfast Dart 2026, NATO’s largest exercise of 2026, shows that the Alliance can act swiftly, stand united, and respond decisively under the leadership of Joint Force Command Brunssum—exactly when it matters most,” said the Commander of JFC Brunssum, General Ingo Gerhartz. “With Exercise Steadfast Dart, we are demonstrating that NATO’s Allied Reaction Force toolbox contains every capability needed to react to any threat.”
Approximately 10,000 service personnel from 11 nations, including ARF units from Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, and Türkiye, as well as Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom, who are linking national exercise activities with Steadfast Dart, will participate in the exercise.
SHAPE is the military headquarters of ACO.