STAVANGER, Norway – From June 1 to 7, the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) hosted the Main Events List/Main Incidents List (MEL/MIL) Incident Development Workshop (IDWS) for the computer-assisted/command post exercise (CAX/CPX) STEADFAST JUPITER 2023 (STJU23) – NATO’s largest and most complex CAX/CPX to date.
The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE)-sponsored exercise is guided by NATO’s Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA), or simply, “Deter and Defend”.
As NATO’s first DDA-aligned exercise, STJU23 is designed to strengthen high-intensity warfighting skillsets of the NATO Command and Force Structure Headquarters in a multi-domain, multi-JOA (Joint Operational Area) scenario.
Over 200 civilian and military personnel across NATO, and from Allied nations and Sweden, representatives from governmental institutions, international organizations (IO) and non-governmental organizations (NGO), as well as external contractors gathered at the JWC to continue the planning and preparation for the exercise, set to take place in the autumn of 2023.
As NATO’s first DDA-aligned exercise, STJU23 is designed to strengthen high-intensity warfighting skillsets of the NATO Command and Force Structure Headquarters in a multi-domain, multi-Joint Operational Area scenario.
Directed by the JWC, STJU23 involves complex planning and execution of combined, joint military operations at sea, in the air and ashore as part of a strategic campaign.
Additionally, it will test the training audiences in cyberspace and space domains, coordination between NATO forces and national defence forces, and exercise human security, bringing into focus interagency cooperation between, the military, NGOs and IOs during a crisis.
STJU23 will be conducted primarily at the joint operational level, but will also include the strategic and tactical levels, as well as the second-tactical level for both component- and corps-level operations.
During the IDWS, participants created and coordinated realistic, coherent and synchronized storylines / incidents, designed to challenge training audiences across NATO, including SHAPE as warfighting headquarters.
Lieutenant Colonel Martin, the JWC’s Chief Content for STJU23, said that the Article 5 exercise would expand the scale and complexity of exercises that the JWC executes with its focus on enhanced deterrence, defence and readiness.
“STEADFAST JUPITER 2023 is NATO’s biggest CPX to date in terms of participation and complexity. 17 nations and over 20 training audiences will participate in the exercise, in addition to NATO Command and Force Structure Headquarters. NATO’s responsiveness will be tested from high-intensity warfighting to humanitarian assistance efforts. The content that will be produced under JWC’s guidance underpins an exercise that directly contributes to the Alliance’s largest post-cold war era transformation: i.e. resetting from crisis management to collective defence,” Lieutenant Colonel Martin said.
Planning for STJU23 started in November 2021. The next and final step along the content development pathway will be the MEL/MIL Scripting Workshop beginning later this month.
The content that will be produced under Joint Warfare Centre’s guidance underpins an exercise that directly contributes to the Alliance’s largest post-cold war era transformation: i.e. resetting from crisis management to collective defence.
