BRUSSELS -- NATO will hold the Alliance's largest exercise for over a decade and most important exercise this year, Exercise Trident Juncture 2015 in autumn, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said Wednesday.
She made the remarks at a press conference together with General Hans-Lothar Domrose, Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum and Lieutenant General Phil Jones, Chief of Staff Allied Command Transformation.
The spokesperson outlined that Exercise Trident Juncture 2015 will be the largest exercise conducted by the Alliance since 2002, which will involve 36,000 personnel from more than 30 NATO Allied and Partner Nations.
It will take place in Italy, Portugal and Spain, from October 3 to November 6, 2015.
"The purpose of the Exercise is to train and test the NATO Response Force, a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force comprising land, air, maritime and Special Forces components," said General Hans-Lothar Domrose.
"Enhancing our response forces is a key part of NATO's overall effort to adapt to emerging security challenges," he added.
The Exercise will demonstrate NATO's new increased level of ambition in joint modern warfare and will show-case a capable, forward-leading Alliance equipped with the appropriate capability and capacity to meet present and future security challenges, according to NATO press release.
More than 12 major International Organizations, aid agencies and non-governmental organizations, such as the European Unionand the African Unionwill also participate in the exercise.
