The 'Steadfast Dart 25' exercise begins, activating the Alliance’s new rapid reaction force for the first time

• More than 3,200 Spanish military personnel along with ships, aircraft and vehicles take part in NATO's largest annual exercise

Today marks the start of ‘Steadfast Dart 25’ (SDTD25), the first deployment exercise of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF). It is NATO’s most high-profile exercise in 2025, designed to showcase its readiness. This exercise tests the Supreme Allied Commander Europe’s (SACEUR) ability to activate the ARF, coordinate its rapid strategic deployment across multiple nations, and ensure convergence in time and place to achieve a deterrent effect.

The Spanish Armed Forces are strongly involved in the manoeuvres, as the Spanish Joint Special Operations Command (MCOE) will lead, for the first time, the Allied Special Operations Component.

Spanish military personnel are distributed among the four component commands of the Alliance. Approximately 760 troops are part of the Land Component Command. The Units, primarily originated by the Legion's Brigade, that participate in the exercise are as follows:

·        1 Light Infantry Battalion (VIII Bandera Colón)

·        1 Field Artillery Battalion (GACALEG)

·        1 Mistral Missile Battalion (GACALEG).

·        1 Sapper Company (BZAPLEG).

·        1 National Support Element (GRULOLEG).

·        1 Signals Unit from the Air Defence Artillery Command

·        Personnel from the Air Defence Artillery Regiment

Regarding vehicles and equipment, 29 heavy vehicles, 110 VAMTAC vehicles, 35 ANIBAL vehicles, 3 Light Gun L118 artillery pieces and a surveillance radar were deployed.

The Maritime Component Command includes an amphibious group with the LHD 'Juan Carlos I' as its flagship and around 1960 military personnel. Other naval assets include the frigates 'Blas de Lezo', 'Alvaro de Bazán', 'Victoria' and the combat support vessel 'Patiño'. The 'Juan Carlos I' carries 5 AV8B Harriers, 2 SH60F helicopters, 1 SH60B 1 helicopter, 1 H135 helicopter and 4 LCM landing craft.

The Landing Force is composed of:

·        Headquarters

·        Landing Battalion

·        Landing Artilley Group

·        Headquarters Battalion

·        Combat Service Support Group

The available equipment consists of 23 heavy vehicles, 47 VAMTAC light vehicles, and 1 Piranha amphibious combat vehicle.

In the Air Component Command, the Spanish Air and Space Forces contribute with support and advisory personnel and have also deployed an A400, as well as modules of the Air Deployment Support Squadron (EADA) and some 55 military personnel belonging to this squadron. At the Zaragoza Air Base, the A400 aircraft is deployed and personnel also participate from Spain, specifically in the Torrejón CAOC.

The Special Operations Component Command, led by the MCOE with contributions from the Armies and the Navy, is composed of a Headquarters, several battle groups, helicopters, a transmission unit and a support unit. It also provides 38 VAMTAC vehicles, 10 heavy vehicles and 2 NH90 helicopters.

The personnel of this command, some 370 military personnel, are deployed in different parts of Bulgaria and Greece to carry out logistical operations and to cooperate with other special operations units as part of the ARF's training objectives. They will be integrated into NATO's SOCC, which Spain is leading for the first time from June 2024 to June 2026.

Exercise ‘Steadfast Dart 25’

Exercise STDT 25, which begins today, will take place in Bulgaria, Romania and Greece until 21 February. It is the largest NATO-led activation in 2025 and is planned as the first rehearsal for a full-scale deployment of this type of force as part of the ARF's readiness activities.

The objective of STDT 25 is to test the interoperability and rapid deployment capability of the four components of ARF-24: land, air, maritime and special operations commands.

This is a complex and large-scale operation, especially for the land and special operations units, not only because of the number of personnel, but also because of the amount of equipment and vehicles involved. In this context, units must demonstrate their deployability, be ready and prepared to move to the area and have all combat capabilities ready in the shortest possible time.

The exercise has been planned by NATO's strategic-level command - Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), based in Mons, Belgium - and led at the operational level by the Joint Force Command located in Naples, Italy. The exercise will focus on the planning and execution of a multi-domain pre-crisis activity aimed at reinforcing Allied forces deployed in the host nations of Romania, Greece and Bulgaria.

The NATO Allied Reaction Force (ARF)

The ARF is a strategic, high-readiness, multi-domain force that can be deployed at very short notice and expand its composition through scalable force packages. It plays a key role as part of NATO's new force model in support of the Euro-Atlantic Space Deterrence and Defence Concept agreed at the Vilnius Summit in 2023. As such, it is capable of performing a full range of missions, from serving as a rapidly deployable strategic reserve in crisis situations, to acting as a deterrent force, to rapidly deploying in response to emerging crises.