Soldiers run during exercise “Steadfast Dart 2025.”Image: keystone
The largest NATO maneuver of the year is currently taking place in Germany. After the transport, the exercises in the north are now entering the second phase. The most important questions
Feb 15, 2026, 4:09 p.mFeb 15, 2026, 4:09 p.m
Claudia Thaler / Zeit Online
Steadfast Dart 26 is the largest NATO exercise in 2026 and the largest of its kind in almost seven years. Around 10,000 soldiers from eleven European countries are practicing relocation from the south and west to the north and east – in times of a possible threat from Russia. They will be in use at sea, in the air and on land, especially in northern Germany, until the end of March. Space and cyber units are also included. The maneuver will also be visible to many people in Germany. The most important questions about the NATO exercise
What is the exercise about?
Thousands of soldiers, material and military vehicles from eleven different European countries have been relocated to Germany in the past few weeks: war and cargo ships arrived in German ports, unloaded military vehicles, tank trucks, off-road vehicles and other material. Convoys rolled from Italy or the Czech Republic to Germany. Troops were flown in from Turkey and Greece. According to NATO, more than 1,500 military vehicles, including battle tanks and rocket launchers and more than 20 fighter jets and other aircraft as well as 17 naval ships, are being used.
The approximately 10,000 soldiers come from Italy, Greece, Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Turkey, France, Belgium and Great Britain. The US is not part of the exercise. According to NATO, this has no political background: the nations involved in the so-called rapid reaction force keep changing.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wants to visit the maneuvers next week.Image: keystone
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) and his Spanish counterpart Margarita Robles are also expected to take part in the maneuver next week.
What is the aim of the maneuver?
With the large-scale maneuver, NATO wants to train for a possible threat situation in the Baltic Sea, for example. The focus of the exercise is NATO’s rapid reaction force, the Allied Reaction Force (ARF). The units consist of around 40,000 soldiers and are constantly available. They should be ready for use throughout Europe within a very short time. And that’s exactly what we practice at Steadfast Dart.
On the one hand, a relocation phase from mid-January tested how soldiers, weapon systems and equipment could be efficiently organized and quickly relocated within NATO territory. On the other hand, the ARF units are now scheduled to train various scenarios in the event of an attack in a trial phase until the end of March.
NATO emphasizes that the exercise is not directed against a specific country like Russia – but is “defensive in nature”, i.e. practicing the defense case. The aim of the maneuver is to show the public and thus also potential attackers of NATO areas that the alliance can quickly gather troops within Europe and move them in all directions.
“Especially in these times it is so important that we demonstrate the unity of our alliance, our NATO.”
NATO General Ingo Gerhartz
Nevertheless, the maneuver is taking place in times of a tense security situation by Russia, which the Baltic NATO members have been warning about for a long time. “Especially in these times it is so important that we demonstrate the unity of our alliance, our NATO,” said German NATO general Ingo Gerhartz. It’s not about a message against anyone, but about a 360-degree message of a high level of NATO commitment and unity within the alliance.
Where does the exercise take place?
Germany is the host country and therefore one of the central locations for the maneuver. Especially since February, the Bergen military training area in the Celle district in Lower Saxony has been a main town – it is also one of the largest military training areas in Europe. Around 2,000 military vehicles have been relocated in Emden in the past few weeks.
The exercise also extends to several locations in Central Europe. The most important components of the second phase take place in Germany. In addition to the Lüneburg Heath, practice takes place on the Baltic Sea coast and in Kiel.
The German Navy is contributing three ships to the fleet.Image: keystone
The German Navy is taking part in the maneuver with three ships. The flagship of the fleet is the Spanish dock landing ship Castilla, which has space for several boats, all-terrain vehicles and even a helicopter. An amphibious landing with the Castilla will soon be practiced at the Putlos military training area east of Kiel.
Germany is a hub – what does that mean exactly?
The maneuver is particularly about Germany’s role as a so-called hub. In concrete terms, this means: In the event of a conflict with Russia, for example on NATO’s eastern border, Germany would be the most important logistics hub and therefore a transit country due to its geographical location in the middle of Europe. With a very short lead time, up to 800,000 soldiers and their armaments could be relocated eastwards via Germany from various NATO states. For example, troops from other countries can land in a German port by sea and be sent on by land. In fact, all supply routes led through Germany, said the Bundeswehr’s Inspector General, Carsten Breuer.
As a “host,” Germany provides food, accommodation, fuel, medical care, technical support, legal advice and guarding for the Allied troops.
All planned processes will be “actually applied,” the Bundeswehr told ZEIT. Ultimately, the findings are intended to be incorporated into the “German Operational Plan” – a secret document in detail in which potential moments of emergency are recorded – and “help to further optimize the processes”. For example, if difficult weather conditions, such as those that have prevailed in the north in recent weeks, lead to delays, this will be “taken into account in the further planning process” in future processes. But coordination and coordination with municipalities and federal states are also taken into account.
A French paratrooper at the end of exercise “Steadfast Dart 2025.”Image: keystone
What do you get from the maneuver?
Military vehicles with foreign license plates on German roads? This is also part of the image of Steadfast Dart 26. The NATO units drive on roads, use bridges and also rails. The columns will also be led along highways, and people will also see armored vehicles. However, the Bundeswehr emphasizes that all measures are closely coordinated with the relevant civilian institutions. Marching columns are announced in good time and should be clearly visible, for example through support vehicles with flashing lights. In individual cases, for example when relocating on public roads, impairments can still occur.
There will also be a NATO reception in Hanover next week on the occasion of the Steadfast Dart maneuver with high-ranking politicians and military officials. Numerous streets in the center of the Lower Saxony state capital will be closed.
With material from the news agencies dpa, Reuters and AFP
This article was first published on Zeit Online. Watson may have changed headings and subheadings. Click here for the original.