"Trident Juncture 2015 NATO’s most ambitious Exercise for over a decade"

Brunssum, the Netherlands. 

NATO, Partner Nations and International Organisations (IOs) will participate in Exercise Trident Juncture 2015 in Italy, Portugal and Spain, from 03 October to 06 November 2015. The event, a flagship activity for NATO’s Connected Forces Initiative (CFI) and the largest exercise conducted by the Alliance since 2002, will have two parts: 

- Command Post Exercise (CPX) for Strategic and Operational level staff training, evaluation and certification (3-16 October), which will include participants from the European   Union (EU) and African Union (AU);

- Live Exercise (LIVEX) for Tactical level troops engagements (21 October – 06 November).

Exercise Trident Juncture 2015 will mark the climax of a series of dynamic and demanding training events designed to train and test troops and Commanders, including those from the NATO Response Force (NRF). 

“The purpose of the Exercise is to train and test the NATO Response Force, a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force comprising land, air, maritime and Special Forces components,” said General Hans Lothar Domröse, the Commander of Joint Force Command Brunssum. “Enhancing our response forces is a key part of NATO’s overall effort to adapt to emerging security challenges. Trident Juncture 2015 has been designed to ensure that our concepts and procedures will work in the event of a real crisis because our job is to always be prepared to defend the people, territory, and values of this Alliance” he added. 

The exercise which involves 36,000 personnel from more than 30 Allied and Partner Nations, will take place throughout Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and also Canada, Norway, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Trident Juncture 2015 will demonstrate NATO’s new increased level of ambition in joint modern warfare and will show-case a capable, forward-leading Alliance equipped with the appropriate capability and capacity to meet present and future security challenges. More than 12 major International Organizations, aid agencies and non-governmental organisations, such as the EU and AU will also participate in the exercise, demonstrating NATO’s commitment and contribution to a comprehensive approach. 

As the culminating event for units, military and civilian staff belonging to more than 30 participating Nations, Trident Juncture 2015 will provide an opportunity for them to refine their operational capabilities. Air, Land, Maritime, and Special Forces will participate simultaneously in several locations and from different Headquarters to train in a complex environment to improve Alliance’s full spectrum capabilities. 

At the conclusion of Trident Juncture 2015, the Headquarters Staff from Joint Force Command Brunssum will be officially certified to lead the NATO Response Force, if activated, throughout 2016. 

Base visit Albacete-Los Llanos in Spain 28-30 October 2015

Many thanks to Capt. José Guerreira Velicia, Spanish Air Force, and his team for the great support we had during the three days of our visit. Volkert Jan van den Berg. (On behalf of Jack Bosma and Marinus Tabak).

Photoshoot TLP ramp

Types/units involved

Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s  from Marham Wing.

Spanish Air Force/Army

EF2000s from  Ala14 Albacete/Los Llanos.

AS532UL from BHELMA III (Army) based at Logroño.

EF-18Ms from  Ala12/Torrejeon near Madrid.

Royal Air Force Typhoons from Lossiemouth Wing.

Turkish Air Force F-16s from 8 Main Jet Base Diyarbakir.

French Air Force Mirage 2000-5Fs  from GC01.002/Luxeuil.