Croatian army troops are taking part in NATO's military exercise called Trident Juncture 18, which is being held in Norway until 7 November, the Croatian Defence Ministry said in a press release on Thursday.

The manoeuvres involve about 50,000 troops from the 29 NATO member-states, plus two partner countries: Finland and Sweden. In the exercise, NATO’s largest since 2002, 25 Croatian soldiers are taking part, providing communication support.

Trident Juncture 18 is one of a several high-profile military exercises, which the Alliance decided to organise at the NATO summit in Wales in 2014. The first edition of this exercise was held in 2015, in Portugal and Spain.

It consists of three main phases – a deployment phase, a live field exercise, and, finally, a command post exercise.

Some 10,000 vehicles, 250 aircraft and 65 vessels will be used during the exercise, under the command of Admiral James G. Foggo III, United States Navy admiral currently serving as commander of US Naval Forces Europe.

Trident Juncture is expected to test NATO’s ability to train and operate together in the northern parts of the NATO area. It will also test the alliance’s ability to operate in cold weather and difficult terrain.

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