NATO's largest exercise since the end of the Cold War will see 50,000 troops deploy into the first snows of a Norwegian winter to show Russia that the alliance is ready to repel any attack, officers said Tuesday.
Officially, November's Trident Juncture exercise will simulate an attack from a fictional country, but it will bring a huge force into one of Moscow's neighbours just months after Russia's vast Vostok war games.
The head of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command, US Navy Admiral James Foggo said that the exercise "must show NATO is capable to defend against any adversary. Not a particular country, anyone."
"There should not be any reason for the Russians to get scared or see this as anything other than a defensive exercise."
The rest of the build-up is expected to be complete by
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