MONS, Belgium – NATO held its long-planned annual nuclear exercise Steadfast Noon from Oct. 14 to 24, 2024, over host countries Belgium and the Netherlands and in airspace over Denmark, the United Kingdom and the North Sea.
One of the biggest myths that we face is that there is a big red button
This training activity involved 13 Allied countries, approximately 2,000 military personnel and a variety of more than 60 aircraft, including nuclear-capable jets, bombers, and fighter escorts. Refuelling aircraft and planes capable of reconnaissance and electronic warfare also took part in the exercise designed to ensure the strength and credibility of NATO’s nuclear deterrent.
A Dutch air traffic controller coordinates take-offs during Exercise Steadfast Noon out of Volkel Air Base, Netherlands, Oct. 15, 2024. – NATO Photo by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Wesley Richardson
An Dutch F-35 conducts air operations during Exercise Steadfast Noon out of Volkel Air Base, Netherlands, Oct. 17, 2024.- NATO Photo by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Wesley Richardson“One of the biggest myths that we face is that there is a “big red button,” said SHAPE’s Chief of Nuclear Operations Colonel Daniel Bunch. “That makes for good Hollywood stories, but that is certainly not the case,” Bunch added.
Conducted over a decade every October, Steadfast Noon offers a realistic training. Colonel Bunch explains, “During this exercise we seek to stress the overall system; put people in tough positions, high operations tempos. He adds that the challenge of coordinating things “literally down to the minute of when we would put a weapon onto a target is a very complex activity.”
NATO’s Washington Summit declaration makes clear that “the fundamental purpose of NATO’s nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression.” It states that “as long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance.”
The planning for next year’s exercise will begin next week.