The Open Sea is not over yet, NATO's Noble Jump has just begun, and the Defense General Staff is already announcing the next gigantic exercise that will take place in Sardinia: «From 8 to 26 May 2023, at the Decimomannu airport , in the ranges of Capo Teulada and Salto di Quirra and opposite maritime areas», reads a statement issued on the day of Sa die de sa Sardigna, « the "Joint Stars" will take place, the most important national and inter-agency joint exercise of Defence, planned and conducted by the Operational Command of the Joint Forces Summit (COVI)".
THE OPEN SEA. Another communication also arrives from via XX Settembre: in these hours Minister Guido Crosetto is on board the flagship of the Italian fleet, Nave Cavour, "off the coast of Sardinia, to greet and share the salient moments of the exercise with a maritime and multi-domain connotation Open Sea 23». Crosetto landed yesterday in Elmas with an Air Force Falcon and was transferred aboard the aircraft carrier.
The minister «today will follow some phases of the exercise which involves a total of around 6,000 soldiers and civilians from universities and research centres. There are 23 nations involved, including 12 NATO countries and 11 Partners».
NOBLE JUMP. Meanwhile, the Noble Jump continues until May 14, under the aegis of the Nato command in Naples. In recent days, the head of external affairs, Navy Captain William Urban, announced that «the exercise demonstrates that NATO is united, ready and willing to defend the allies. It's a statement of our determination and our capabilities."
JOINT STARS. War rhetoric also in the Joint Stars announcement. "It will be a multi-domain exercise that will see the Italian Armed Forces train in the defense of air, land and sea spaces, in cyber and space security, in defense against chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear contamination and in contrasting the threats deriving from emerging technologies, increasingly used in the manufacture of underwater or aerial drones». Over 4,000 men and women and about 900 land, air and naval vehicles will operate on the ground. The declared objective «is to train units and assets of the national Armed Forces for defense operations of the national territory and of the Alliance, but not only. The training event will focus on a first civilian response to a humanitarian and public security crisis and a subsequent joint and multinational military response in compliance with article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which establishes the principle of collective defense in case of aggression to one of the allied countries".