NATO artillery exercise Dynamic Front underway across Europe

ROVANIEMI, Finland — Dynamic Front, a large-scale multinational field artillery exercise, began Nov. 4, 2024. Held in multiple locations across Europe, including Finland, Estonia, Germany, Poland and Romania, Dynamic Front is the largest iteration of the exercise to date. The exercise, hosted by Finland, is led by the 56th Artillery Command out of Wiesbaden, Germany, and focuses on standardizing artillery fire at all levels, as well as the interoperability of field artillery technical systems between the United States, NATO allies and partner nations.

Among participating units are U.S. Army 56th Artillery Command, 41st Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, and 1st Cavalry Division, along with military forces from allies and partners including Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United Kingdom.

Dynamic Front, which runs through Nov. 24, is highlighted by a multi-day series of live fire events, with the United States participating in exercises in four of the five locations. In addition to live fires, this exercise will incorporate several technologies such as the Artillery Systems Cooperation Activities, or ASCA, network, an encrypted software that eliminates language barriers across artillery units.

ASCA increases the ability of forces to collaborate and operate in a joint, high-intensity environment across different locations by using standardized target information, map graphics and language. This system, used by the United States and 14 other nations throughout the exercise — the most ever incorporated in a NATO exercise — showcases the capabilities of NATO by synchronizing multinational live fire artillery capabilities from the Arctic Circle to the Black Sea.

“Dynamic Front is a warfighting-focused artillery training exercise with Allies and partners designed to rehearse plans, improve communications, and standardize procedures,” said Maj. Gen John L. Rafferty, commander of the 56th Artillery Command. “The exercise stretches from Finland to Romania and includes rocket and cannon artillery live fire in five different countries. When we conduct realistic training with our allies and partners, we become ‘Stronger Together’.”

This is Finland’s first time hosting such a large NATO exercise since joining the Alliance, and it is the largest NATO artillery-based exercise ever held in the European theater. This will also be Finland’s first time serving as a NATO MultiCorps Land Component Command under NATO’s warfighting structure.

“It's a great opportunity for the Finnish Army to host this Dynamic Front exercise, testing our capabilities, interoperability and readiness to conduct live fires in demanding Nordic conditions,” said Lt. Gen. Pasi Välimäki, commander of the Finnish Army. “This exercise demonstrates NATO’s ability to operate seamlessly in various locations, and C2 networks. It also shows Finland’s swift ability to receive reinforcements from our Allies and our readiness to command and control multinational forces. This exercise contributes to NATO’s readiness to defend the Alliance.”

While large-scale NATO operations are relatively new to Finland, the United States, along with its Allies and partner nations, regularly train together to refine tactics, techniques and procedures. Dynamic Front is another opportunity for U.S. Army Europe and Africa to refine and inform NATO’s regional plans, increasing the capability of the Alliance. With 5,000 participating personnel from 28 nations and the incorporation of live artillery fires in five different countries, Dynamic Front highlights the partnership, interoperability, and strength of the NATO Alliance. This exercise is an investment in the Alliance and, through warfighting and peace-keeping exercises like Dynamic Front, the United States, NATO, and partner nations stand ready to deter adversaries and defend the European theater.