Steadfast Dart 26, the most important annual exercise for NATO, will take place in Germany in early February

•  The deployment of the capabilities of the Army and the Navy, as well as those of the Special Operations Component Command, begins. These capabilities will be integrated into this annual multi-domain exercise

Steadfast Dart 26, one of NATO's most important exercises, will be held this year starting on 7 February in Germany. It is a multi-domain exercise that involves the deployment of the entire Allied Response Force (ARF), with the Joint Force Command Brunssum responsible for the area.

The Spanish Joint Special Operations Command (MCOE, from its Spanish acronym) is responsible, for the second consecutive time, for leading the Special Operations Component Command (SOCC). For its part, the Spanish Navy contributes the Amphibious Assault Ship Castilla as the flagship of the Maritime Component Command (Spanish Maritime Forces – SPMARFOR).

The main objective of Steadfast Dart 26 is to demonstrate the ability to deploy rapidly and converge in time and space with the rest of the Allied Response Forces (ARF). The exercise consists of two main phases: one for deployment and another for training. The Spanish Armed Forces have already begun the gradual deployment to Germany for the first phase.

Projection and deployment

This Friday, the Spanish Army began transporting the first deployment of units to the area: 57 vehicles, eight trailers and 20 containers. A second deployment of vehicles will depart for Germany the following week.

In early February, it will be the Navy’s turn to deploy. The Navy will take part in the exercise with the Amphibious Assault Ship Castilla, which will serve as the Command Ship, and the frigate Cristóbal Colón, which will embark COMANDES-31, an escort command. In addition, NATO’s Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG-1) will also participate in the exercise. SNMG-1 is currently commanded by Spain, with staff embarked on board the frigate Almirante Juan de Borbón, and will cooperate with the replenishment oiler Patiño starting on 6 February.

The Air and Space Force contributes to the activity with two SOALI special operations teams: one under the command of the land SOTG, and the other supporting the Navy.

Starting on 3 February, the approximately 1,500 Spanish military personnel who will participate in the training phase will travel to Germany. Around 10,000 military personnel from 11 countries will participate in the exercise, as part of ARF units from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Spain and Turkey. Belgium, France and the United Kingdom are also participating, having linked their national activities to Steadfast Dart.

Once the muti-domain exercises in Steadfast Dart 26 have been completed, the Army will participate in the Quadriga exercise, which NATO considers to be a surveillance and deterrence activity for the Eastern Flank.

The Navy will also remain in the area for several more days to conduct other activities with allied units.

In addition, until its return to Spain in early March, the Parachute Brigade will conduct national training exercises in Germany.

NATO Allied Reaction Force (ARF)

The ARF is a highly available strategic force with multi-domain capabilities. It can be deployed very quickly and its composition increased through scalable multi-domain force modules, strengthening deterrence both in times of peace and crisis, and creating a strategic dilemma for adversaries. Furthermore, the ARF's flexibility enables the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) to allocate additional forces to the ARF Commander as required, in any situation and across the entire operational spectrum.

La ARF desempeña un papel crucial como parte del Nuevo Modelo de Fuerza de la OTAN, que apoya el Concepto de Disuasión y Defensa del Espacio Euroatlántico (PDD), que se acordó en la cumbre de Vilna de 2023. En el PDD se esbozan las actividades militares y los objetivos de disuasión en tiempos de paz, así como las actividades militares y los objetivos de defensa en tiempos de crisis y conflicto. En este contexto, el ARF es capaz de llevar a cabo un espectro completo de misiones: desde constituirse como una reserva estratégica de despliegue rápido en situaciones de crisis, una fuerza de disuasión o desplegarse rápidamente en respuesta a crisis vinculadas a otras situaciones emergentes.

The ARF plays a crucial role as part of the new NATO Force Model, which supports the Concept for the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA), agreed at the 2023 Vilnius Summit.The DDA outlines military activities and deterrence objectives in peacetime, as well as military activities and defence objectives in times of crisis and conflict. In this context, the ARFs are capable of carrying out a full spectrum of missions: from serving as a strategic reserve for rapid deployment in crisis situations, a deterrent force, or deploying rapidly in response to crises linked to any other situations.