Europe
NATO opens annual Steadfast Noon nuclear exercise in Italy with 17 nations
NATO says its annual nuclear deterrence exercise began on 13 October 2026 in Italy with 17 nations, uses no live weapons and is not directed against any country.
NATO began its annual nuclear deterrence exercise, Steadfast Noon, on Tuesday, 13 October 2026. According to the Alliance, this year’s edition is held in Italy and involves 17 nations, at a scale comparable to previous iterations.
NATO describes Steadfast Noon as a long-planned, routine training activity. Its purpose, the Alliance says, is to help maintain readiness and to test the procedures that support deterrence and defence. NATO states that no live weapons are used in the exercise.
What NATO says about the timing
The Alliance stresses that the exercise is not linked to current world events and is not directed against any country. Secretary General Mark Rutte described NATO as a defensive Alliance.
The announcement was published by NATO on 8 October, five days before the start, and gives no further operational detail such as dates for the end of the exercise, the airfields used or the number of aircraft. Those details are not part of the official statement and are therefore not reported here.
Context
For readers following the wider nuclear deterrence debate in Europe, Geopolitiki has previously reported on Finland joins France’s European nuclear deterrence initiative, a separate national track from the NATO exercise described here.
Source: NATO, announcement “NATO holds annual nuclear exercise Steadfast Noon”, 8 October 2026.