Trident Juncture 2018 returns NATO to the spotlight
NATO's Trident Juncture military exercise provides a glimpse of how the renowned international organization would respond to a hypothetical armed conflict between a members state and a hostile nation.
Trident Juncture is one of the largest exercises the twenty-nine member states have conducted in many years and even includes the participation of Finland and Sweden, who are non- member states to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The exercise ran from the 25th of October to the 7th of November, featuring 50,000 personnel, 10,000 vehicles, 150 aircraft, 65 ships, and even put a US aircraft carrier to the stress test.
For this large undertaking, the participants are putting political disagreements aside to show that they are willing to cooperate actively in the fields of security, defense and deterrence. This is an important signal that is being sent out to other state actors on the international stage and something that was much needed in a security environment that has been gradually heating up, particularly in light of some of Russia’s recent moves, like the annexation of Crimea, their alleged involvement in democratic elections, the Novichok poisoning in Great Britain, continuous cyber-attacks and many more. It is clear that the military alliance needs to show their ability to deliver what they promise – security and defense.
Trident Juncture wants to deliver results on multiple fronts. One is to show that the NATO is capable of effectively applying its resources in a coordinated way. Another is to refocus attention on the North Atlantic as a point of special interest for the organization due to its strategic importance in the case of a real conflict with, for example, Russia. The third purpose is to show the unified commitment of all Allies to stand by Article 5, describing the principle of collective defense, and the solidarity towards the NATO’s “frontline” allies. These are nations such as the Baltic States and Poland that are located in proximity to Russia.
However, this cooperation is not exclusively limited to the physical realization of an operation like Trident Juncture, but is also accompanied by increases in defense spending to develop further capabilities and other measurements to reinforce security commitments. Among these, there is the establishment of a new Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC) in Germany and the creation of a cyber command that is said to be fully operational until 2023. The later one is particularly important to the organization as it faces hundreds of hacking attacks on a monthly basis by state and non-state actors.
Seeing that NATO is making these efforts is reassuring for its member states and a matter of vital importance if the organization not only wants to stay effective in an operational manner but also if it wants to stay relevant in today’s world.
Trump’s frank criticism towards certain countries, like Germany, for their alleged “free-riding” on the defense expenditures of other states among the NATO umbrella and the somewhat direct threat to withdraw US support from the organization if European countries don’t increase their contributions are just two facts showing that the alliance has seen better days.
Meanwhile, the Russian Federation conducted an even bigger military exercise just this year with 300,000 military personnel, 1,000 aircraft, 1,100 tanks and 50 combat ships while also including Chinese military capacities. Thus, it remains to see how successful NATO cooperation will really be in the future and if an exercise like Trident Juncture was enough to ensure transatlantic harmony.
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