NATO's Annual Exercise Of Nuclear Preparedness Next Week

JAKARTA - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will begin its annual nuclear preparedness exercise, Steadfast Noon, next week.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stressed the importance of readiness in an increasingly unstable global landscape.

"In a world full of uncertainty, it is very important for us to test defense and strengthen capabilities, so that the enemy knows that NATO is ready and able to respond to all threats," said Rutte in London, after meeting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy..

The drills will be held amid increasingly intense nuclear rhetoric from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has issued several warnings since his country started a war in Ukraine in 2022.

Scheduled to start on Monday next week, the drills will involve about 60 aircraft, including F-35A fighter jets and B-52 bombers, and 13 NATO member states.

About two thousand military personnel will participate in a simulation mission involving a US nuclear warhead, although no active weapons will be used, NATO officials confirmed.

The two-week exercise will take place in the "North Sea area" and will be hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.