NATO’s biennial Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) exercise, Formidable Shield, has been taking place at the Hebrides Range, Scotland, and Andoya Range, Norway. The exercise, from 4 to 23 May 2025, focused on enhancing maritime and operational and tactical interoperability between participants across a series of multi-domain scenarios including counter-drone operations.
Organized by the United States 6th Fleet and Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), the exercise brings together 11 participating Allied Nations, 17 ships and 16 aircraft, encompassing nearly 7,000 deployed personnel.
The live-fire training was conducted from two ranges, with over 100 targets including uncrewed aerial systems and missiles, providing a realistic scenario for NATO Allies and Partners to cooperate in an integrated air and missile defence environment using NATO command and control structures.
The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) provided end-to-end integration between all units and participants. NCIA’s experts enabled national systems and networks to securely connect to NATO’s operational network, allowing participants to communicate and coordinate in real time throughout the exercise.
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Image: NATO Communications and Information Agency
