NATO Launches Steadfast Dart-2026 Drills to Test Rapid Reaction Force Across Europe

NATO is preparing to hold its large-scale Steadfast Dart-2026 military exercises, focused on testing the rapid movement and deployment of the Alliance’s Reaction Forces. The main phases of the drills will take place in Germany, Turkey, Italy, and Spain.

According to the Germany’s Bundeswehr, the exercises will run from January to March 2026 and involve around 10,000 troops from Italy, Greece, Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Turkey, with additional support from France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.

This year’s drills will center on deploying and sustaining NATO’s newly created Allied Reaction Force. Germany will host much of the exercise, providing accommodation, logistics, and supplies for participating troops, while training activities unfold across several countries.

Under NATO’s updated force model, the Alliance aims to be able to deploy up to 800,000 troops across its operational area within six months. Within that framework, up to 20,000 personnel assigned to the Allied Reaction Force must be ready to deploy within ten days.

Steadfast Dart-2026 is intended to showcase NATO’s rapid-response capability, strengthen operational readiness, and reinforce deterrence.

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The Baltic Sea will receive particular attention during the exercises, including the deployment of Turkey’s amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu. Germany will also contribute up to 1,500 vehicles, from transport trucks to self-propelled artillery, and will oversee drone defense measures and security for the deployed forces.

Earlier, German authorities started preventing vessels with ties to Russia from entering the country’s territorial waters in both the Baltic and North Seas.

Federal police stepped in on January 10 after a so-called “zombie tanker,” the Tavian, crossed into German waters in the North Sea. The vessel was believed to be en route to the Baltic Sea and ultimately heading toward an oil terminal in St. Petersburg.

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