NATO will press ahead with its annual nuclear exercise next week, despite Russia’s recent warning that it could use nuclear weapons to defend its territory.
The 10-day Steadfast Noon exercise begins on Tuesday, 13 October, in Italy, with dozens of aircraft from 17 NATO countries expected to take part.
Nassima Barrows, NATO’s head of nuclear policy, stressed that the exercise was routine and posed no threat to Russia.
Barrows said: “Our exercise Steadfast Noon is routine. We have been doing this every year and we have not postponed.”
She added: “There is no need to worry. This is predictable.”
The exercise comes weeks after Moscow warned that it could use nuclear weapons if NATO attempted to isolate Kaliningrad, Russia’s strategically important Baltic exclave.
Steadfast Noon has been held annually for more than a decade and is designed to test NATO’s ability to carry out its nuclear deterrence mission.
The exercise will involve nuclear-capable aircraft and conventional support aircraft, although no nuclear warheads or live munitions will be used.
NATO officials have declined to disclose the operational scenarios or specific military equipment involved. Previous exercises have included bombers, fighter jets and ground personnel.
The alliance insists that this year’s exercise is unrelated to current international developments, with most activities taking place around Italy, far from Russian territory.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the exercise was important for maintaining the alliance’s nuclear deterrent.
Rutte said: “NATO is a defensive Alliance. This exercise helps us ensure a safe, secure, effective, and credible capability to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression. It also sends a clear message of unity and resolve.”
The exercise follows a warning from Moscow in late September that NATO could face nuclear retaliation if it attempted to cut off Kaliningrad from the rest of Russia.
The Russian exclave lies between Poland and Lithuania, both NATO members, and is home to Russia’s main Baltic naval base and other important military installations.
Moscow has deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missile systems in the territory, giving it a significant military presence along NATO’s eastern flank.
Russia’s warning was delivered to NATO headquarters and subsequently published by several Russian embassies across Europe.
A statement from Russia’s embassy in Ireland said: “There should be no mistake – Russia would be ready to use all its arsenal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries try to isolate the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country.”
The warning has raised concerns about the potential for confrontation in the Baltic region, where NATO has increased its military presence since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Western military officials have previously identified Russian military installations in Kaliningrad as potential targets in the event of a wider conflict between Moscow and NATO.
Rutte responded to Russia’s warning on 30 September, confirming that the alliance had issued a formal reply urging Moscow to end its nuclear threats.
Rutte said: “This is absolutely not called for and not helpful.”
Asked whether Russia’s warning represented a genuine risk of nuclear escalation against the Baltic states, Rutte said: “No, it’s not. Putin knows that he can never win from NATO, so I don’t take this that seriously, but of course we had to reply and make clear to him that NATO is a defensive alliance, as I said, and stop the war in Ukraine, and stop the nuclear threats because it’s not helpful. And NATO is so much stronger than Russia is, so there’s no way they can ever beat us.”
The dispute comes as European NATO members reassess their nuclear deterrence arrangements amid growing tensions with Moscow.
Lithuania’s parliament voted on Tuesday to advance a constitutional amendment that would remove the country’s ban on hosting nuclear weapons. The proposed change requires a second parliamentary vote before it can take effect.
The move prompted criticism from the Kremlin, which warned that expanding NATO’s military infrastructure near Russian territory risked further escalation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The same applies to the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of a neighbouring state. Neither of these developments will contribute to stability and predictability on the European continent; on the contrary, they will, much to our regret, mark yet another significant escalation of tensions.”
Moscow also criticised France following a test of a nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic missile off the coast of Brittany this week.
Peskov said: “They are building their identity in the field of defence and security on the basis of confrontation with the Russian Federation. This is a dead end path. As history shows, it leads to nothing good.”
Despite Russia’s increasingly forceful nuclear rhetoric, Barrows sought to reassure NATO allies about Moscow’s military posture.
Barrows said: “We monitor Russia very closely. We have not observed any big changes to its posture that would cause us alarm.”
NATO maintains that Steadfast Noon is intended to demonstrate the alliance’s ability to defend its members rather than signal preparations for an attack.
The exercise also allows participating forces to rehearse the coordination, communications and operational procedures required for NATO’s nuclear mission.
Last year’s Steadfast Noon involved approximately 70 aircraft from 14 allied countries, with operations centred on the Netherlands and supporting activities in Belgium, Britain and Denmark.
This year’s participation by 17 countries comes as NATO seeks to reinforce its deterrence capabilities amid continuing Russian nuclear threats and heightened security concerns across Europe.
