May 19 2025

NATO Allies Project Power and Readiness in Exercise Swift Response 25

RAMSTEIN, Germany – From 11 to 31 May 2025, NATO Allies and partners are executing Swift Response 25, led by the United States, conducting near-simultaneous airborne and mobility aircraft operations, and multinational training across the High North and Baltic region to enhance collective defence readiness.

The exercise featured five coordinated airborne insertions in Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, alongside high-intensity drills including live fires, medical support operations and high mobility artillery training, supported by Allied mobility aircraft. Swift Response 25 is the opening phase of the broader U.S.-led DEFENDER 25 exercise, designed to reinforce NATO's deterrence posture and demonstrate rapid deployment capability.

Everything we demonstrate with our Allies and partners, we can replicate globally.

Paratroopers from the U.S. joined Dutch, French, German, Italian and forces in a combined jump into Lithuania, while Polish forces executed a similar insertion into Finland. In Norway, the 82nd Airborne Division led a major airborne assault, marking the start of DEFENDER 25. The Finnish Army conducted live fire training with Polish troops, and U.S. HIMARS units performed HIRAIN (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Rapid Insertion) training in Finland and Sweden.

Latvia hosted joint airborne and live-fire operations involving Spanish and U.S. paratroopers, integrated with the national exercise Crystal Arrow. Lithuania conducted a field hospital exercise under simulated CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) conditions, demonstrating forward-deployed medical capabilities and drone-enabled blood resupply.

“This is about global deterrence,” said General Christopher Donahue, Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. “Everything we demonstrate with our Allies and partners, we can replicate globally. DEFENDER gives us critical repetitions at scale for theatre logistics and warfighting.”

The coordinated jumps by multinational airborne forces are made possible through the seamless integration of strategic and tactical airlift platforms. For example, the United Kingdom are supporting the exercise with the A400M and the U.S. with the C-17 Globemaster III, alongside other tactical aircraft such as a C-130J Super Hercules, enabling the rapid and effective multinational airborne operations.

Swift Response 25, as part of DEFENDER 25, engages approximately 25,000 personnel from 29 Allied and partner nations. It validated NATO’s ability to coordinate complex operations across multiple domains and geographies, reinforcing the Alliance’s collective defence posture.

Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office

A German Army soldier walks toward a landing zone during a multinational airborne and mobility operations demonstration in support of NATO deterrence and enhanced readiness, Gaižiūnai Airfield, Lithuania, 13 May, 2025. During Exercise Swift Response, the initial phase of DEFENDER 25, approximately 25,000 soldiers from 29 Allied and partner nations rehearse the ability to rapidly deploy forces, integrate and expand multi-domain operations capability, and demonstrate combined command and control structures (U.S. Photo by T.T. Parish).

A UK RAF A400M transported UK troops to Bardufoss Air Station, Norway, as part of the U.S.-led Swift Response 25 exercise, validating NATO’s ability to coordinate complex operations across multiple domains and geographies (Photo courtesy of the UK Royal Air Force).

Multinational airborne and mobility operations demonstrate NATO deterrence and enhanced readiness. During Exercise Swift Response, the initial phase of DEFENDER 25, approximately 25,000 soldiers from 29 Allied and partner nations rehearse the ability to rapidly deploy forces, integrate and expand multi-domain operations capability, and demonstrate combined command and control structures (Photo courtesy by the Lithuanian Air Force).