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Allied Air Command participates in Exercise Steadfast Duel 2025

NATO Allied Air Command

Oct 30 2025

RAMSTEIN, Germany -- From 22 to 29 October 2025, NATO's Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) participated in Exercise Steadfast Duel 2025 (STDU25), a computer-assisted command post exercise designed to enhance NATO's operational readiness, interoperability, and air command and control in an Article 5 collective defence scenario.

Directed by the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) in Stavanger, Norway, and scheduled by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Steadfast Duel 2025 is NATO's largest computer-assisted exercise this year. It is the first time all three Joint Force Commands - Brunssum, Naples, and Norfolk - train together within one coordinated framework, supported by the theatre component commands, including AIRCOM.

Throughout the exercise, AIRCOM's Air Operations Centres at Torrejón, Spain; Uedem, Germany; and Bodø, Norway simulated the generation of Air Tasking Orders, directing aircraft missions within a dynamic, multi-domain environment. This training tests the agility of NATO's Airpower, ensuring that Allied Air Forces can plan, coordinate, and execute operations across land, maritime, air, cyber and space domains. The exercise also reinforced coordination between AIRCOM, the NATO Space Operations Centre, and land components, strengthening the Alliance's capacity for integrated deterrence and defence.

European Air Transport Command (EATC) also participated in the exercise, embedding themselves into the scenario. EATC's Aeromedical Evacuation Control Centre (AECC) specifically supported Steadfast Duel 25 with aeromedical evacuation capabilities. Recognising that future warfighting scenarios are likely to involve significantly higher numbers of casualties, EATC is actively working to align procedures and capacities with NATO Allies in the field of Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC).

"Our increasingly complex security environment requires that we deliver more realistic and audacious exercises for the NATO Alliance," said Major General Ruprecht von Butler, Commander of the JWC, at the outset of the exercise. "With the scale and scope managed by STEADFAST DUEL 2025, we will do exactly that."

As NATO's air component, AIRCOM is responsible for directing Allied air operations from across the Alliance. The exercise provided a platform to strengthen interoperability and cohesion across Allied air and space assets, ensuring that NATO can execute its regional defence plans with precision and speed.

Steadfast Duel 2025 underscores NATO's commitment to readiness, unity, and collective defence. By integrating air, space, and cyber capabilities into the wider joint operational picture, AIRCOM ensures that Allied Airpower remains a decisive and credible element of NATO's deterrence and defence posture across the Euro-Atlantic area.

Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office