OSLO – Exercise Brilliant Jump 22, an annual deployment exercise of the NATO Response Force (NRF), commenced in southern Norway on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022.
Approximately 2,500 troops from 12 NATO nations are taking part. Naval, air and land forces will demonstrate their ability to deploy rapidly and integrate with forces of the Host Nation. With only a few days' notice, high-readiness elements of the NRF are able to deploy wherever needed to deter hostile acts and, if necessary, defend NATO Allies.
Exercising in Norway under Arctic winter conditions will put our processes, procedures and people to the test, proving that NATO is capable of fulfilling its commitments in even the harshest conditions
"NATO is a defensive alliance, and we will always do what is necessary to protect and defend any Alliance member. Exercise Brilliant Jump 22 is a demonstration that NATO forces remain ready to act at all times, whether in peacetime, crisis of conflict – wherever and whenever needed," said Colonel Frank Warda, Chief of the NATO Media and Information Centre.
VJTF brigade during exercise Brilliant Jump 2020 part II in the Pabrade training area, Lithuania on Nov. 3, 2020 - Photo by OR-9 Leo Roos, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum
"Exercising in Norway under Arctic winter conditions will put our processes, procedures and people to the test, proving that NATO is capable of fulfilling its commitments in even the harshest conditions," added Warda.
Command of the NRF rotates annually between two operational-level NATO headquarters: Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples in Italy and Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands. JFC Brunssum is the headquarters in command of the NRF for 2022.
Formed in 2002, the NRF provides NATO with a credible, rapidly deployable military option to respond to emerging crises, underpinning the principle of Collective Defence.
Brilliant Jump 22 will run until Mar. 17. This year, forces deployed for the exercise will remain in Norway to participate in Exercise Cold Response 22, a large bi-annual Norwegian-led winter warfare exercise that will be conducted in the north of the country.