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NAPLES, Italy - The spring iteration of NATO’s enhanced Vigilance Activity Neptune Strike 25-1 concluded with significant success. Throughout the month of April until 19th of May 2025, NATO successfully demonstrated its multi-domain capabilities reinforcing the freedom of movement across the Alliance’s Southern and South-Eastern flank.  

Neptune Strike 25-1, the first iteration of this peacetime vigilance activity for 2025, saw contributions and participation from Bulgaria, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States, and  expanded across and beyond the Mediterranean to include parts of the Northern Atlantic and the Black Sea region, further exhibiting NATO’s 360-degree approach to deter and defend its Allies against any threats from any directions. 

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“In the face of a complex security environment, NATO’s readiness to deter and defend is brought to life through Vigilance Activities like Neptune Strike. These activities showcase our ability to rapidly integrate Carrier and Expeditionary Strike Groups into the Alliance, taking strategic advantage of a wide range of high-end Allied capabilities. This ensures seamless interoperability and demonstrates our collective resolve,” said Royal Navy Rear Admiral Craig Wood, CBE, Deputy Commander of Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO).

In total, nearly 30 surface vessels and submarines along with numerous aircrafts from 13 contributing nations participated in the various phases of Neptune Strike 25-1. The activities involved approximately 20,000 sailors, aviators, marines and supporting personnel.

 Among the participating nations, Italy played a major role by proving its sophisticated capability to operate an entire expeditionary task group, including amphibious forces, under NATO command. Capitalizing on the new Italian flagship, the Helicopter Landing Dock (LHD) Trieste, Italian Marines successfully executed a complex amphibious landing on Sardinia, Italy, “kicking off” the official start of Neptune Strike 25-1.

The combination of enhanced naval power both above and below the surface of the sea combined with various aviation assets demonstrated supremacy and led Neptune Strike to achieve its main objectives: Maintain freedom of maneuver in NATO’s area of operations, secure strategic maritime chokepoints, conduct deterrence and vigilance, and foster NATO’s capabilities to enable multi-domain operations across Europe, and to conduct long-range strikes.

This iteration saw NATO forces conduct operations over the Black Sea for the first time as part of the Neptune Strike series. These operations, conducted in international airspace and in accordance with international laws, strengthen and reinforce NATO’s presence in the region.

Multiple aircraft carriers and supporting naval assets complemented the Neptune Strike force composition. Along with the French Navy aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle and the Italian carrier Cavour, which participated earlier in the Neptune Strike iteration, the HMS Prince of Wales led a diverse carrier strike group (CSG) during Neptune Strike 25-1, supported by various escorting vessels from Canada, Norway, Portugal, and Spain. In addition, multiple maritime and aviation missions- across the Central Mediterranean have been carried out from the U.S. Navy Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group in support of the Neptune Strike’s multi-domain activities. 

On April 28, 2025, NATO key leaders from Norway, Spain, the UK, and Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Naples met and observed operations onboard HMS Prince of Wales, further improving the Alliance’s interoperability. Onboard the ship, JFC Naples Assisting Chief of Staff for Plans, Spanish Navy Rear Admiral Isidro Carrara highlighted that multi-national approach by saying: “Working together in this challenging multi-domain environment improves the interoperability among the Allies significantly, and demonstrates once again both NATO’s determination and its proven capabilities. Accordingly, Neptune Strike 25-1 concludes with a remarkable balance sheet which enforce the Alliance’s common goals: To deter and to defend every inch of its territories.”

The Neptune Strike series is a long-planned vigilance activity, which does not follow a specific training schedule- but it is deliberately planned and dynamically executed in support of NATO’s deterrence objectives, guided and directed by NATO’s Supreme Allied Headquarters Europe (SHAPE) at Mons, Belgium.  The entire Neptune Strike related activities are conducted in compliance with international law and standards. It is defensive in nature and not directed towards any third party.