On May 6, a major exercise begins at sea off the coasts of Norway and Scotland. The purpose of the exercise is to practice and train NATO countries’ missile defense at sea. More precisely, the exercise focuses on training the ships’ ability to respond to all kinds of threats from the air, including anti-ship missiles and ballistic missiles – both individually and in cooperation between warships.
The main emphasis is on interoperability in a network that connects NATO units at sea, in the air and on land.
Denmark is participating in the exercise with the frigates Iver Huitfeldt and Absalon, and in addition to the Danish warships, warships from the USA, Canada, France, Great Britain, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain are also participating. In addition, a number of land and air forces are participating.
In addition, Denmark also has a representative on the staff that controls and manages the implementation of the exercise, and which has command of the participating ships.
For Denmark, it is a welcome opportunity to train cooperation – not just internally on the ships – but also with the alliance partners in NATO. The exercise is thus used by Denmark to train and update some of the many naval disciplines that a frigate crew must possess. This happens especially during the exercise of NATO’s integrated air and missile defense concept. By training together with the other allied NATO countries, the ability to act and operate together is ensured if an escalated situation should arise. The task is both to protect the other ships and to secure and protect areas on land via an air defense that does not only cover the ships at sea.
An exercise like this offers an advanced setup and advanced training scenarios, where it is important for Denmark to participate together with the other NATO countries. This is to train in a realistic environment and create a cohesive ability to act integrated with the allied ships to ensure peace and stability.
In other words, Formidable Shield 25 gives Denmark and the other participating countries the opportunity to learn from each other and strengthen relations between allies and partners.
The benefits of the exercise and the contribution from the many allies and partners not only support naval cooperation abroad but also the defense of the homeland. Part of the exercise is the IAMD (Integrated Air and Missile Defence) concept, which focuses on air defense across the borders between sea, air and land in a network that binds the forces together. Overall, the exercise is a demonstration of NATO’s capacity to wage war, maintain military readiness and be combat-ready.
The exercise takes place from today until May 23rd off the coast of Norway and the Hebrides. Denmark is participating with the frigates Iver Huitfeldt and Absalon. The exercise is led by the US Sixth Fleet and STRIKFORNATO.