RAMSTEIN, Germany – Exercise STEADFAST JUPITER 23 (STJU23) kicked off on October 9, 2023, in multinational headquarters across Europe – one of them being Allied Air Command at Ramstein, where staff will plan, coordinate and conduct complex air operations for the Joint Force Command over the next ten days.
STJU 23 is an ideal opportunity for our staff to demonstrate and further hone their skills delivering effective command and control of NATO air forces
Under the overall guidance of NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), STJU23 is a command-post exercise designed to exercise the executability of the NATO and national defence plans, and to bolster Allied interoperability across 24 multinational headquarters elements, 7000 participants, from strategic to tactical levels of warfighting within NATO.
The main operations floor at Allied Air Command during exercise Streadfast Jupiter 2023, where elements of the JFAC are at work. Photo by Arnaud Chamberlin.
General James Hecker, Commander Allied Air Command, addressed exercise participants during his welcome remarks. Photo by Arnaud Chamberlin.
In the JFAC, a 600-strong staff from 19 nations support higher headquarters through leading the air domain during the exercise. Photo by Arnaud Chamberlin.
Complex air operations - combined and joint, defensive and offensive - are the daily work for planners in the JFAC. During Steadfast Jupiter the task is to accomplish this in a crisis environment. Courtesy archive photo.
A major joint exercise encompassing all elements of military capability, STJU 23 contributes to the NATO concept for Deterrence and Defence by confirming critical elements of developed plans endorsed by all Allied nations at the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius.
“At Allied Air Command we have stood up the NATO Command Structure Joint Force Air Component, the JFAC. Our 600-strong staff from 19 nations support higher headquarters through leading the air domain and providing advice as subject matter expert for Air Power,” said General James Hecker, Commander Allied Air Command.
“We can fully concentrate on the exercise, because Germany’s JFAC ensures our real-world missions continue,” General Hecker added. “STJU 23 is an ideal opportunity for our staff to demonstrate and further hone their skills and expertise delivering effective command and control of NATO air forces and to defend against any adversary across Allied territory integrated into the Alliance’s multi-domain capability,” he concluded.
STJU 23 will demonstrate NATO’s ability to command forces that will deter, and if required, defend against evolving security threats from any direction, to protect allied territory and collective values.
In preparation for NATO’s 2024 flagship exercise – STEADFAST DEFENDER – STJU 23 will enhance NATO’s responsiveness within SACEUR’s North-Eastern Area of Operations while practicing deployment, reinforcement and sustainment as well as operational arrangement at the local/regional levels between NATO units and Host Nations.
Exercises are important tools through which the Alliance tests and validates its concepts, procedures, systems and tactics that must function together to effectively support a mission's objectives. Putting these structures into practice allows them to be tested and, if necessary, refined. A Command Post Exercise is a training event for Headquarters and NATO Commands to test and develop their ability to conduct complex military operations. It is computer-based and conducted by NATO units across the Alliance and does not involve actual troop movements or activities.