ANKARA

NATO allies on Sunday completed the initial phase of the Exercise Steadfast Defender 24 in Poland, the "largest military exercise in Europe since the Cold War," according to the alliance. 

"Exercise Steadfast Defender 24, conducted in Poland with the participation of 24 countries including Türkiye has been successfully completed," the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on X.

About 90,000 troops are to take part in the exercise “poised to test and refine NATO’s defence plans for reinforcing European defences against a near-peer adversary,” the alliance had said earlier in a statement before the drills began.

“STEADFAST DEFENDER 2024 is designed to provide valuable insights for enhancing NATO’s defence plans, improving interoperability, efficiency, and resilience.

“This effort aims to demonstrate NATO’s commitment to collective defence and send a robust message about its readiness to protect all Allies in the face of emerging threats,” the statement noted.

“As tensions persist in Eastern Europe, this exercise sends a clear message that NATO is prepared to defend its members, its values, and uphold collective security in the Euro-Atlantic area,” the alliance underlined.

According to the statement, the first phase of the exercise, between the end of January and mid-March, focused on "maritime reinforcement across the Atlantic and in the Arctic."

The second phase from mid-February to the end of May shifts to "using deployed reinforcements across all domains, from the Arctic to the Eastern Flank."