Formidable Shield 2023, a biennial live-fire joint and combined Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) event using NATO command and control structures, will take place from May 8 to 26. This year's exercise involves 13 NATO allied and partner nations, more than 20 ships and 35 aircraft, along with eight ground units and approximately 4,000 personnel from across the alliance. The exercise will test the capabilities of fourth and fifth-generation fighter aircraft, including the F-35, fielded by multiple allied nations. 

According to Rear Adm. James Morley, deputy commander of Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) and officer in charge of the exercise, Formidable Shield is the premier IAMD and live fire rehearsal in the European theater. The exercise highlights STRIKFORNATO’s ability to seamlessly integrate allied and partner maritime and air forces into combined operations, demonstrating the strength and unmatched cohesion of the transatlantic Alliance. Throughout the exercise, allied and partner forces will participate in a series of live-fire events against subsonic, supersonic, and ballistic targets while incorporating multiple allied ships, ground forces, and aviation assets working across battlespaces to deliver effects and effectively accomplish exercise objectives. 

STRIKFORNATO, headquartered in Oeiras, Portugal, is a rapidly deployable and scalable headquarters capable of planning and executing full spectrum joint maritime operations, including IAMD, primarily through integration of U.S. and other nations’ carrier and amphibious forces into NATO operations to provide assurance, deterrence, and collective defense for the Alliance. Along with personnel and units from numerous national commands and combined NATO staffs, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe will join the exercise from throughout North America and Europe. The multinational Commander, Task Group IAMD will be embarked aboard the Spanish Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate ESPS Blas de Lezo (F 103), which will serve as the flagship for the exercise.