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.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.