Overview

• The exercise began Thursday in Hamburg, staging a response to a simulated escalation near the Baltic states that triggers NATO pre-positioning.
• Firefighters executed a harbor salvage scenario at HHLA’s Terminal O’Swaldkai using heavy cranes and the fireboat Branddirektor Westphal.
• About 70 Bundeswehr vehicles were to form an approximately 3.5-kilometer convoy through the city for several hours with a police escort, with helicopters planned.
• Day two centers on counter-drone threats, and Commander Kurt Leonards cast the effort as a test of resilience and whole-of-state defense.
• Roughly 500 personnel from the Bundeswehr and blue-light agencies are involved alongside companies such as Airbus and HHLA, with protests announced for Friday and Saturday.