NATO to start annual nuclear drill Steadfast Noon next week

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Belgian fighter pilot sits in the cockpit of an F-16 during a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) exercise in Belgium, Apr. 30, 2021. (NATO photo via Flickr)

BRUSSELS  -  NATO's annual nuclear deterrence exercise, Steadfast Noon, will be hosted by the Netherlands and start next week, with 71 aircraft from 14 nations taking part, officials from the Western military alliance said on Friday.

The exercise "sends a clear signal to any potential adversary that we will and can protect and defend all allies against all threats," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.

Rutte made his remarks in a video message recorded at Volkel airbase in the Netherlands, the main host of this year's drill.

Bases at Kleine Brogel in Belgium, Lakenheath in Britain and Skrydstrup in Denmark will also be involved, NATO said.

"We need to do this because it helps us to make sure that our nuclear deterrent remains as credible, and as safe, and as secure, and as effective as possible," Rutte said.

The exercise does not use nuclear weapons but simulates scenarios in which they could be used, NATO officials said.

Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian officials have at times warned of the danger of nuclear confrontation with NATO, which has condemned such rhetoric as irresponsible. 

In recent weeks, however, nuclear tensions have cooled. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to maintain for one year the limits on deployed strategic nuclear weapons set out in the New START Treaty, which expires next February.

Jim Stokes, NATO's director of nuclear policy, told reporters at alliance headquarters in Brussels that Steadfast Noon was "routine" and "not directed at any country".

"It's also not linked to any real-world events," he said.

 (Reporting by Andrew Gray, Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Aidan Lewis // REUTERS)