Although Exercise Trident Juncture is a large-scale test of NATO’s ability to conduct high intensity operations, it also will serve as a test for certain elements of NATO’s revamped rapid response forces, including command and control nodes and logistics support, French Air Force Gen. Jean-Paul Palomeros told reporters in Washington, D.C., Aug. 27. For example, the exercise will be used to assess and evaluate the Alliance’s Rapid Deployable Corps in Spain, the joint force air component in Italy, as well as Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands, which will serve as the command authority for the exercise. It also will test NATO’s ability to provide logistics for rapidly deploying forces and to dispatch follow-on forces to any initial response. If the VJTF cannot achieve an adequate response by itself, Palomeros noted, the Alliance must be “prepared to go further if needed” to provide follow on forces. Certification of the National Response Force will continue next year with the next iteration of Exercise Noble Jump, added Palomeros.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
