This exercise provided essential training for NATO's Air and Space Command and Control (C2) specialists with their colleagues at Joint Force Command Brunssum to ensure air operations and space effects could be synchronized with the other components (land, maritime, special forces) and nations. Multi-domain responses to non-traditional threats were also exercised, with Allied personnel reacting to simulated cyber attacks and countering adversary information operations.
We were able to exercise the Deputy Commander Air role, with a team working remotely at Joint Force Command Brunssum to ensure the benefits offered by the air domain were fully considered when executing a joint campaign
"By testing ourselves in these complex multi-domain scenarios and reacting to hybrid threats, we have deepened our ability to respond collectively to protect our populations during any crisis or conflict," said Lieutenant General Pascal Delerce, Deputy Commander Allied Air Command. "We were able to exercise our new Air C2 structure, with a team working remotely at Joint Force Command Brunssum to ensure the benefits offered by the air domain were fully considered when executing a joint campaign," he underlined. "I would like to thank the men and women who participated in this exercise for their hard work and dedication."
Small teams from Finland and Sweden joined the exercise at Allied Air Command and were able to provide national insight into the coordination and de-confliction of air operations in the Baltic Sea and High North Regions. This cooperation was even more important during the early stages of the exercise, when nations were operating within their own nationally defined air space.
Additionally, the NATO Space Centre, located at Allied Air Command played a central role and brought real-world awareness to exercise participants. Working with national Space Operations Centres from many Allied nations, the Centre provided space situational awareness data and products to all Commands. Given the impact of the space domain on operations on land, sea and in the air, these inputs from the NATO Space Centre assisted the planning and execution of operations throughout the exercise.
Steadfast Jupiter 21 evaluated the Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands, as well as another 14 training audiences across Allied Command Operations in planning and conducting a joint operation leading up to an Article 5 of the NATO Charter of collective defence. It is a stepping stone for further exercises in 2022, which will layer additional complexity in order to continue to improve the Alliance's ability to safeguard our populations and nations.