BRUSSELS, Jan  24, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - NATO on Wednesday began its biggest 
military exercise since the Cold War with a US warship leaving the United 
States for transit across the Atlantic to alliance territory in Europe.

       The Western military alliance has said some 90,000 troops will take part in 
the months-long Steadfast Defender 24 exercise designed to test its defences in 
the face of Russia's war on Ukraine. 

       "The alliance will demonstrate its ability to reinforce the Euro-Atlantic 
area via trans-Atlantic movement of forces from North America," said General 
Christopher Cavoli, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

       "Steadfast Defender 2024 will be a clear demonstration of our unity, 
strength, and determination to protect each other, our values and the 
rules-based international order."

       The exercise is designed to simulate the 31-nation alliance's response to 
an attack from a rival like Russia.

       It will be composed of a series of smaller individual drills and will span 
from North America to NATO's eastern flank, close to the Russian border. 

       Some 50 naval vessels, 80 aircraft and over 1,100 combat vehicles will take 
part. 

       The exercise -- the biggest since the 1988 Reforger drill during the Cold 
War -- comes as NATO has overhauled its defences since Russia launched its 
invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

       The alliance has dispatched thousands of troops to its eastern flank and 
drawn up its most extensive plans since the collapse of the Soviet Union to 
protect itself from a Russian attack.