The second iteration of the high-value exercise series this year, Joint Warrior was led by the United Kingdom and involved more than 19 ships and 20 aircraft, integrating around 6,000 multinational military personnel. Participating nations include Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The task group maintained their very high level of readiness by demonstrating operational flexibility in delivering combat capabilities and fighting spirit
Joint Warrior is one of the largest multinational military exercises in Europe. The exercise is part of the NATO Military Exercise Program and brings together maritime, air and land forces from the participating countries to give them the opportunity to improve their joint operation skills in a professional environment.
Naval Gunfire Support Exercise – FGS HESSEN
The aim of the exercise is to create a challenging and realistic environment in which participants can practice and improve their operational skills both as single units and in association with other units. The scenario reflects a range of real-world crisis and conflict situations. Interoperability and teamwork are required for this, as are operational-tactical know-how and the ability to respond appropriately and flexibly to a wide variety of threats. The focus was on ensuring freedom of manoeuvre in the maritime domain and securing trade routes against any external threats.
From the maritime perspective, the exercise focused on joint defence, air defence, and surface naval combat exercises. Another focus was exercises to provide artillery fire support from sea for units operating on land.
Adverse weather conditions provided a distinct set of operational challenges during the exercise. This required a high degree of flexibility and professionalism from each of the task group units. The lessons learned during the exercise serve to improve interoperability and ensure NATO’s commitment to collective defence.
“The task group maintained their very high level of readiness by demonstrating operational flexibility in delivering combat capabilities and fighting spirit,” Commander, SNMG1 Rear Admiral Thorsten Marx said. “Joint Warrior offered us a realistic training scenario to be ready and decisive when needed for the security of the Alliance.”
SNMG1 is one of NATO’s four multinational maritime task groups. Its current flagship is German Navy frigate FGS Hessen. These task groups form the core of NATO's VJTF maritime capabilities and provide a continuous maritime capability to conduct NATO missions across the full spectrum of operations, demonstrating solidarity and strengthening diplomatic and professional relationships between allied naval forces.