Challenging the NATO nuclear exercise Steadfast Noon

INTERNATIONAL PEACE BULLETIN

ALBERT

16 October 2026

Since 13 October, NATO has been exercising in the Italian skies with the nuclear exercise "Steadfast Noon" involving 17 member countries and the participation of aircraft capable of carrying atomic bombs.

At the same time, civil society engaged in nuclear disarmament contests what is defined as a "dress rehearsal for atomic war"..

The exercise is presented by NATO as a "routine" event, but pacifist organisations emphasise that it instead represents concrete preparation for the use of nuclear weapons, at a time of increasing global tension.

Initiatives in Germany

In Germany, where air bases directly involved in the exercises are located, a new protest action is being prepared for tomorrow. On 10 October, a protest vigil was held in front of the Fliegerhorst (air base) in Büchel, where American atomic bombs are stored. The initiative, organised by a network of associations including the Aktionsbündnis "atomwaffenfrei.jetzt", the Netzwerk Friedenskooperative and the DFG-VK, saw the participation of activists who wanted to send a clear signal against what they consider a violation of international law. In fact, according to the promoters, the participation of the German armed forces in "Steadfast Noon" would constitute training for a war crime, as international humanitarian law prohibits any use of nuclear weapons and the German Ministry of Justice itself has acknowledged that the use of such weapons by German soldiers would constitute a war crime.

For tomorrow 17 October a demonstration in Nörvenich is planned, at the Fliegerhorst (air base), with a procession that will conclude at Schlossplatz with a final rally. The organisers have also arranged a shuttle service from Düren station to facilitate participation.

The "Stop Steadfast Noon" campaign in Italy

Also in Italy, the host country of the exercise, PeaceLink has launched the campaign "Stop Steadfast Noon", proposing a nonviolent action path in five steps. The aim is to ask the prefectures for information on civil protection plans in the event of nuclear war, highlighting how the population has not been informed or prepared to face a potential emergency.

The campaign invites citizens to form local promoting groups, collect signatures, submit formal requests for access to documents, and organise delegations to visit the prefectures to ask what alert, evacuation, and decontamination procedures are in place in the event of a nuclear incident.

In two Italian cities, pacifist groups have simultaneously initiated protests against the NATO nuclear exercise "Steadfast Noon": in Trieste, a press conference is being held with the delivery of an open letter to the Prefect; in Florence, a street mobilisation is underway with leafleting.

Trieste: press conference and open letter to the Prefect

Today, at 11 am, in Trieste, in Piazza Unità, in front of the Prefecture, a press conference will be held to present an open letter addressed to the Prefect of Trieste.

The letter has been drafted as part of the national campaign promoted by PeaceLink, on the theme of the NATO nuclear exercise "Steadfast Noon". The organisers announce that they will formally deliver the letter to the cabinet office of the Prefecture, with the aim of "making it clear to the institutions that we know very well in which serious dead end of war they are dragging us", and to ask the authorities to respond regarding the "consequences that the nuclear exercise may have on the lives and health of citizens".

The organisers invite "everyone who cares about peace, the future of humanity and the planet" to participate, with the slogan "10, 100, 1000 actions against the nightmare of nuclear war".

Florence: leafleting against Steadfast Noon

Today at 6 pm in Piazza Sant'Ambrogio in Florence, leaflets will be distributed to contest the ongoing nuclear exercise. The statement from the Florentine Coordination against Rearmament is clear: "In our weekly vigil, we will inform about the NATO exercise Steadfast Noon. Nuclear exercises are a very dangerous game. Italy, as a non-nuclear country, should not even host atomic warheads, yet it will instead be the stage for simulations of real nuclear attacks".

Pisa: workers contest the nuclear exercise

The CUB (Unitary Base Confederation) of Pisa is protesting against the nuclear exercise "Steadfast Noon". This is an organisation of workers with more radical positions compared to the confederal unions.

The CUB of Pisa has sent a formal request to the Prefecture of Pisa, asking for clarification on what specific safety plans have been prepared at the local level during the "Steadfast Noon" exercise. In its statement, the CUB states: "We are not facing a game, but a real military exercise", and asks the Prefecture to clarify whether adequate security measures have also been planned in the Pisa area.

The contestation reaches the Italian Parliament

Parliamentarian Angelo Bonelli (AVS) has raised the issue of the nuclear exercise through an interrogation to the Minister of Defence, criticising the lack of communication from the government and reiterating the need to adhere to the UN Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The issue of civil emergency plans in the event of nuclear war, of which everyone is unaware, is raised. We are trained to press the nuclear button but not to assist civilians, as far as possible, in a catastrophe like a nuclear one. In 1989, the German government withdrew from the NATO nuclear exercise due to the abnormally high number of civilians being sacrificed in the simulation.

Honourable Bonelli asks "if the Government does not consider it appropriate and necessary, in light of what has been stated and the worrying precedent of Germany in 1989, to suspend Italian participation in Steadfast Noon".

The protest in the United Kingdom

The British CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) has expressed solidarity with the Italian activists who are currently protesting against NATO nuclear exercises.

Sophie Bolt, General Secretary of the CND, stated that these exercises and the warmongering rhetoric that accompanies them only increase tensions at a time when nuclear risks related to the war in Ukraine are accelerating.

The statement from the CND was as follows:

"These exercises and accompanying war-mongering rhetoric are only increasing tensions at a time when the nuclear risks over the Ukraine war are accelerating yet again. We condemn Russia's latest nuclear threats. Whilst 'Steadfast Noon' exercises do not use live weapons, they are about preparing for pre-emptive, aggressive nuclear use. Just like Russian military exercises, these deeply provocative NATO exercises should be disbanded. We need political leaders focusing on diplomacy and dialogue to bring this devastating conflict to an end".

The translation into Italian is: "Queste esercitazioni e la retorica bellicista che le accompagna non fanno che aumentare le tensioni, in un momento in cui i rischi nucleari legati alla guerra in Ucraina stanno di nuovo accelerando. Condanniamo le ultime minacce nucleari della Russia. Mentre le esercitazioni 'Steadfast Noon' non utilizzano armi reali, esse servono a preparare un uso nucleare preventivo e aggressivo. Proprio come le esercitazioni militari russe, queste esercitazioni NATO profondamente provocatorie dovrebbero essere abolite. Abbiamo bisogno di leader politici che si concentrino sulla diplomazia e sul dialogo per porre fine a questo conflitto devastante".

The simulation of the nuclear attack

In the Steadfast Noon exercise, faithful replicas of the B61-12 bombs are used.

They are mirror copies of the real bombs in terms of weight, aerodynamics, centre of gravity, and internal electronic systems, but do not contain fissile or nuclear explosive material. They are actually dropped by bombers (such as the F-35A, F-16, or Tornado) over designated military firing ranges. They serve to test integration with the aircraft's software, bomb guidance systems, radar altimeters, and spin rocket motors. Instead of the atomic core, telemetry instruments are mounted that record every flight data until impact with the ground.

The reasons for the pacifist protest

Pacifist organisations contest "Steadfast Noon" for various reasons. Firstly, it is an exercise that simulates the use of nuclear weapons, with aircraft training to load, transport, and drop atomic bombs, even if with simulacra. This, according to critics, normalises the idea that a nuclear war can be "conducted" and "won".

Secondly, the "nuclear sharing" – the agreement that allows non-nuclear countries like Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands to host American atomic bombs and train their pilots in their use – is considered a violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Finally, pacifists emphasise that while NATO hypocritically claims that the exercise is not directed against anyone, it takes place in a context of increasing tension with Russia and the modernisation of arsenals by all nuclear powers. In 2025, global spending on nuclear arsenals reached approximately 119 billion dollars.

The demands of the pacifists

Pacifist organisations make specific demands to European governments: cancel participation in the "Steadfast Noon" exercises, withdraw all nuclear weapons from European territory and end "nuclear sharing", adhere to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which came into force in January 2021, and commit to serious negotiations for complete nuclear disarmament.

The pacifists' demand is aimed at avoiding a tit-for-tat response from Russia.

As activists have pointed out, at a time when nuclear exercises risk following one another at a rapid pace (Steadfast Noon has been preceded by a nuclear exercise by France), pacifist initiatives represent an attempt to bring back to the centre of public debate the fundamental issue: the return to an agreement that reaffirms the rules of the INF treaty to avert a return to the disastrous era of Euro-missiles.

Moscow announces counter-nuclear exercises

It was predictable that Russia would not be pleased with the Steadfast Noon nuclear exercise and that it would not sit idly by.

A counter-nuclear exercise organised by Moscow is indeed expected, announced yesterday on TASS.

This is the statement: "NATO has launched its annual exercise Steadfast Noon to practice handling nuclear weapons. The manoeuvres involve troops from the 17 member states of the alliance. NATO aircraft are practising nuclear missions, moreover, near Russian borders. Naturally, we are forced to prepare an adequate military response to such provocations. Any self-respecting state would behave similarly in our place".

The statement was made by the Russian permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Dmitry Polyansky.