A segment of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF) exercise “Steadfast Dart 25” took place at the beach of Nea Anchialos in Volos, central Greece, on Thursday.
Special operations units from Greece and Spain, supported by fighter aircraft and helicopters, landed on the shore and “secured” the neighboring airport of the 111 Combat Wing. The exercise also featured naval units, including the flagship of the Spanish Navy, the aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I.
Steadfast Dart 25 is NATO’s largest exercise for 2025, held simultaneously in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania from February 10 to 21. The exercise involves more than 10,000 troops from the three host countries, as well as from France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, the United Kingdom and Turkey. Approximately 1,500 vehicles, 20 fighter jets and 17 naval units have been mobilized.
The creation of the Allied Reaction Force was decided in the summer of 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and was ratified at the NATO Summit in Vilnius in 2023.
“We are learning to collaborate, solve problems, trust each other, and defend together. I want to thank Greece, an important member of our Alliance, for its role as a host nation, as well as for the forces and personnel it provided,” emphasized Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario, commander of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force, in a statement to Kathimerini.
Greece played a dual role in the exercise, serving as the location for the amphibious landing operation in Volos as well as a transit hub for troops deployed to Romania.
“Volos, the port of Thessaloniki, and the port of Alexandroupoli, which serves as the main entry point through which all personnel heading to Bulgaria and Romania have passed, highlight the value of our country as a hub for NATO troop movements,” said Lieutenant General Georgios Manouras, commander of the Greek army’s Special Warfare Command, in an interview with Kathimerini.
