STAVANGER, Norway – NATO Exercise STEADFAST DETERRENCE 2026 (STDC26) concluded at the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) and multiple other locations across Europe and the United States on May 13, 2026.
This marks the completion of nine days of intensive training focused on strengthening NATO’s deterrence posture at the strategic and operational levels. It is the first exercise to implement the new Campaign Approach to Exercises, which offers greater realism, develops increased warfighting readiness, and enhances multi-domain command and control across Allied Command Operations headquarters.
Approximately 8,000 military and civilian staff participated in Exercise STEADFAST DETERRENCE 2026.
Scheduled and conducted by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Exercise STEADFAST DETERRENCE 2026 involved all Allied Command Operations joint and domain headquarters; it also included national representatives from all of NATO’s 32 member states.
The exercise was designed and directed by the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) in Stavanger, Norway.
Deterrence is the bedrock of our great Alliance and STEADFAST DETERRENCE is NATO’s landmark deterrence exercise. The complexity, scale and scope of STEADFAST DETERRENCE 2026 is a demonstration of our collective commitment to strengthening deterrence, interoperability, and readiness across the Alliance.
– Major General Ruprecht von Butler
Commander JWC
On the aims of the exercise, the JWC Commander explained: “STEADFAST DETERRENCE 2026 was designed to replicate the complexities in the Arctic and the High North, integrating real-world plans, cutting-edge simulation technologies and AI-enabled warfighting platforms. Overall, STEADFAST DETERRENCE 2026 played a major role in operationalizing NATO’s Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area, demonstrating that we train to fight and win.”
Major General von Butler added: “Once again, I am proud of the JWC team, our Exercise Control staff, and trusted agents, who made this third iteration of the exercise possible.”
During the execution phase, a number of visitors were present at the JWC to observe the exercise first-hand and liaise with the JWC leadership: Lieutenant General Ludovic Pinon de Quincy, French Army, SHAPE Vice Chief of Staff; Rear Admiral Bo Berg, Swedish Navy, Chief Directorate of Capabilities and Finance, Swedish Defence Staff; Major General Björn F. Schulz, German Army, Deputy Commanding General for Integration, U.S. Army Europe and Africa; Major General Akshai M. Gandhi, U.S. Air Force, Director J7, United States European Command; and Brigadier General Jan Kerdik, Czech Army, SHAPE Assistant Chief of Staff J7.
NATO’s STEADFAST series of exercises continues to accelerate the Alliance’s deterrence posture and readiness. It’s worth highlighting that Exercise STEADFAST DETERRENCE implements the refined NATO Command Structure command and control, and allows the joint force commands and component commands to address the changes. STEADFAST DETERRENCE optimizes NATO’s deterrence management and generates broader conversations about the Military Alert System and response measures. With the participation of staff members from all Allied Command Operations (ACO) headquarters and from all 32 NATO nations, it also enables a strong focus on coordination, synchronization, and orchestration across joint operations areas and domains.
– Colonel Kevin Rafferty
JWC’s Deputy Chief of Staff Operations,
and Chief Exercise Control
STEADFAST DETERRENCE 2026 has presented an excellent opportunity for NATO staffs to exercise with NATO Maven Smart System. All Allied Command Operations headquarters are now employing the system to enhance their situational awareness and decision cycle.
At the Joint Warfare Centre, there has been a significant increase in usage of artificial intelligence and automation to deliver the exercise, with nearly 550 staff using the NATO Maven Smart System. These evolving capabilities are changing how the JWC plans, dynamically scripts and executes exercises.
Major Wade, the JWC’s Deputy Chief of the Exercise Operations Centre (EOC) – the exercise nerve centre – explained how the EOC emerged from concept to execution.
He said: “What we have built is more than a workspace – it is a coordination hub that brings together people, processes and tools to support decisions and keep the exercise moving with discipline and purpose. At its core, the EOC is about shared understanding and helping the team operate as one.”
The Joint Warfare Centre is also embracing its key role in warfare development, working closely with its higher headquarters, Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, to better exercise multi-domain escalation dynamics.
Through integration and testing of cutting-edge conceptual work within the exercise environment, the JWC enables the refinement of innovative tools that measure escalation dynamics and support decision-making across the Alliance.
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NATO’s Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) was established on October 23, 2003, in Stavanger, Norway.
The JWC is NATO’s training focal point for joint operational- and strategic-level warfare, responsible for delivering NATO’s largest multi-domain exercises at these levels.
The JWC acts as a hub for Allied Command Transformation and Allied Command Operations to further advance NATO’s transformation.
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