NATO's steadfast noon drills: A tense standoff with Russia

The annual NATO exercises commenced a few weeks after President Putin announced changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine. The aim was, among other things, to discourage Western countries from supporting Ukraine.

- Nuclear deterrence is the cornerstone of the Alliance's security. Steadfast Noon is a significant NATO test in the realm of nuclear deterrence and sends a clear signal to any adversary that we will protect and defend all allies - said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The Kremlin has already responded to the start of the manoeuvres. - In the context of the hot war taking place as part of the Ukrainian conflict, such exercises lead to nothing else but further escalation of tension - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov also said that resuming talks on nuclear weapons with the USA is currently not possible because "Western nuclear powers are engaged in a conflict against Russia, and thus any security talks would have to be much broader in scope".

The Steadfast Noon manoeuvres have been held annually in October for a decade. This year, they involve about 2,000 soldiers from eight air bases, as well as various types of aircraft, including multi-role fighters carrying nuclear weapons, bombers, escort fighters, air tankers, and reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft.

This year's exercises include flights mainly over Belgium and the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and the North Sea. Aircraft from 13 member countries will participate in the manoeuvres. This year, the first F-35A fighters from the Netherlands have been declared ready to carry nuclear weapons.

Quoted by AP, Angus Lapsley, NATO's Deputy Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, stated that the exercises are meant to show that the Alliance's ability to counter any threats is credible and is something that "every adversary should take extremely seriously".

He added that NATO is monitoring the rapid development of China's nuclear capabilities as well as the situation in Iran, "but of course, we are most concerned about Russia."

He said that Moscow has intensified its investments in its nuclear forces in recent years, introducing many new systems and increasing spending on short- and medium-range weapons. He emphasised that this is a "quite clear attempt to influence us," in the context of support for Ukraine.

As highlighted by AP, the United States and the United Kingdom, with their strategic nuclear forces, are crucial for NATO's deterrence security. France also possesses nuclear weapons but is not part of the nuclear planning group of this organisation.

According to the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, there is currently no direct threat of nuclear weapon use by Russia, despite threats made by Putin.

- It is true that Putin's nuclear rhetoric is reckless and irresponsible, but - let me be absolutely clear about this - we see no direct threat of nuclear weapon use - he said in October.

He added that Putin wants to talk about his nuclear arsenal, and he also wants NATO to talk about it. - I think we should not do that. We should just acknowledge that there is no direct threat - the Dutchman added, emphasising that if the Alliance succumbed to Putin's threats and, for example, reduced support for Ukraine, it would create a precedent and mean that mere threats of military force would allow Russia to achieve its goals.

Daniel Bunch, head of nuclear operations at NATO headquarters, said - quoted by AP - that although dozens of aircraft are involved in Steadfast Noon, many exercises take place behind the scenes.

- Within Steadfast Noon, we try to emphasise the entire system; we put people in challenging situations - said Bunch. He added that the challenges of the exercises lie in coordinating activities "literally minute by minute".

The NATO declaration from the Washington summit states that "the primary purpose of NATO's nuclear capability is to preserve peace" and "as long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance".