STAVANGER, Norway – Sponsored by SHAPE and directed by the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC), Exercise STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 (STJU21) is designed to train and evaluate the NATO Response Force 2022 (NRF22) under the lead of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS).
In addition to NRF22, Exercise STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 will provide vast training opportunities for SHAPE, theatre component commands (Allied Land Command, Allied Maritime Command, Allied Air Command, and NATO Military Cyber Operations Centre), as well as Multinational Corps Northeast, Multinational CIMIC Group, CBRN Joint Assessment Team, and the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, amongst others.
The exercise consists of all domain operations against a peer adversary based on a fictitious pre-Article 5 training scenario using a 360-degree approach, set in the High North region of Europe and the Baltic Sea Region.
Overall, Exercise STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 is designed to challenge the training audiences at the strategic, operational, and tactical-levels focusing on the challenges of deterrence in all domains, while presenting a timely opportunity to contribute to the concept for the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA) and the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept (NWCC).
Major General Piotr Malinowski, Commander JWC and the Exercise Director, remarked on the uniqueness and complexity of the exercise.
“STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 is NATO’s largest and most challenging command post exercise this year. It is our capstone training to address the challenges of deterrence, from hybrid threats to real combat capabilities in a Major Joint Operation (MJO), where an operational-level joint headquarters and SHAPE’s engagement will test NATO’s responsiveness, command and control (C2) agility, and deterrence posture to strengthen our collective defence,” Major General Malinowski said.
Major General Malinowski added: “The focus of the operational activities during the exercise will be in the deterrence phase, which is a first for the Alliance. It is an honour and a privilege for me to direct an exercise with such complexity. As the JWC team, we are here to make NATO better. We are committed to bolstering the Alliance’s deterrence and defence capabilities through realistic and demanding training. This is what this exercise is all about and the JWC has been preparing for it for over 22 months. I am looking forward to delivering such a unique exercise on behalf of the Alliance.”
Major General Piotr Malinowski (right), Commander Joint Warfare Centre and the Exercise Director.
"STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 is NATO’s largest and most challenging command post exercise this year. It is our capstone training to address the challenges of deterrence, from hybrid threats to real combat capabilities in a Major Joint Operation, where an operational-level joint headquarters and SHAPE’s engagement will test NATO’s responsiveness, command and control agility, and deterrence posture to strengthen our collective defence."
Major General Piotr Malinowski, Commander JWC and the Exercise Director
Exercise STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 training audiences include most of the entities constituting the NRF22 force package, and several other NATO organizations, such as:
- SHAPE
- Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum and the Joint Logistics Support Group Brunssum
- Allied Land Command, Allied Maritime Command, Allied Air Command and NATO Military Cyber Operations Centre
- NATO Special Operations Headquarters
- Headquarters Rapid Reaction Corps-France and Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast
- NATO Joint Force Air Component
- United Kingdom Strike Force (providing the maritime component command)
- The Italian Special Forces Component Command
- NATO Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Reachback Element, CBRN Joint Assessment Team and NATO's Combined Joint CBRN Defence Task Force
- Multinational CIMIC Group
- Norwegian National Joint Headquarters
- NATO Communications and Information Systems Group
Exercise STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 is designed to challenge the training audiences at the strategic, operational, and tactical-levels focusing on the challenges of deterrence in all domains, while presenting a timely opportunity to contribute to the concept for the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area and the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept.
The situation update briefing at the Joint Warfare Centre.
Lieutenant General Pierre Gillet, Commander Rapid Reaction Corps-France, hosting the exercise opening ceremony at the Joint Warfare Centre.
Members of the training audience at the Joint Warfare Centre.
Joint Warfare Centre exercise situation centre, CAX.
The Head of the JWC's Advisory Team during a meeting at Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum.
During the course of the exercise, JWC’s advisory teams will be deployed to several exercise locations in Europe in order to assist and monitor the different training audiences. The EXCON organization, meanwhile, will be located at the JWC where participants will develop, execute, and control the exercise’s flow using the Joint Exercise Management Module (JEMM).
Lieutenant Colonel James Rossell, the JWC’s lead planner for STJU21, said this exercise would enhance NATO’s common capability to defend and keep Allied populations and territory safe.
“As a pre-Article 5 exercise, STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 provides the first opportunity for NATO higher military headquarters to plan for and conduct an exercise focused on deterrence as a critical element of the NATO collective defence to prevent conflicts and be prepared to defend,” Lieutenant Colonel Rossell said.
Lieutenant Colonel Rossell added: “I firmly believe that STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 will further strengthen our ability to operate as an Alliance, and test and prepare our forces for the real-world priorities of deterrence and defence.”
Lieutenant Colonel James Rossell, the JWC's lead planner for the exercise.
EXERCISE STEADFAST JUPITER 2021 AT A GLANCE
- What: Major computer-assisted command post exercise (CAX/CPX).
- When: From October 19-28, 2021.
- Who: Around 5,000 participants from 26 NATO and two partner countries (Finland and Sweden), involving 18 different training audiences.
- Location: Multiple locations in Europe.
- Objective: To train and evaluate NATO Response Force 2022 (NRF22) and
- Director: Major General Piotr Malinowski, Commander of the Joint Warfare
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