Boris Pistorius on Wednesday highlighted Turkey’s strategic importance to European security after observing NATO’s Steadfast Dart 2026 exercise during its maritime phase in the Baltic Sea region, saying allied unity and readiness were on display.
Speaking to reporters at the Putlos training area in northern Germany, Pistorius described Turkey as a “very, very important” ally on NATO’s southeastern flank, citing the scale of Turkish capabilities and their visible role in the day’s amphibious demonstration. He specifically pointed to amphibious boats used during the scenario, saying they were new to the Turkish Navy and had demonstrated high quality.
Steadfast Dart 2026 is NATO’s largest exercise of the year and is designed to test the rapid deployment and integration of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF), the alliance’s high-readiness formation intended to move quickly across borders and operate as a single force package in a crisis. NATO has said the drill runs from January through March 2026 and involves about 10,000 personnel from 11 allied countries, spanning land, air, maritime, special operations, cyber and space dimensions.
Pistorius thanked Turkey for what he called a substantial contribution to the exercise, including roughly 2,000 personnel as well as a mix of naval platforms and domestically produced systems. In remarks reported by multiple outlets, he praised the quality of Turkish equipment and forces and said the Turkish contribution was central for the alliance as a whole, adding that it demonstrated NATO “is bigger than some people believe.”
Turkish participation has been particularly visible in the drill’s Baltic maritime component. According to Anadolu Agency reporting from the exercise area, Turkey used Bayraktar TB3 armed unmanned aerial vehicles in an amphibious landing scenario—described as a first for a NATO exercise—alongside naval, air and land elements operating with allied forces under realistic conditions.
Trade publication reporting and Turkish statements around the drill have also focused on TB3 operations from Turkey’s flagship amphibious assault ship, TCG Anadolu. FlightGlobal, citing the manufacturer, reported that TB3 carried out live weapons activity during the exercise after taking off from Anadolu, presenting the sortie as a demonstration of shipborne strike capability in the Baltic operating environment.
NATO’s operational messaging around Steadfast Dart has emphasized readiness, interoperability and the ability to reinforce quickly. A NATO news release announcing the start of the exercise described it as the first deployment of the ARF within the area of responsibility of NATO’s Joint Force Command Brunssum, while the alliance’s SHAPE headquarters has framed the drill as a major test of operational and strategic responsiveness across domains.
NATO’s Joint Force Command Brunssum has also highlighted the amphibious demonstration as a key moment in the maritime phase of the exercise, describing the scenario as a combined display of ARF maritime capabilities and allied integration during the Germany-hosted portion of Steadfast Dart 2026.
Some reporting on the Putlos demonstration noted that no U.S. troops were taking part in this phase of the exercise, underscoring the European-heavy composition of the deployed force package on the day.
For Pistorius, the takeaway was political as well as military: the exercise, he said, showed allied cohesion and the practical value of capabilities brought by partners such as Turkey—particularly at a moment when NATO is focusing on faster reinforcement, cross-domain coordination and the credibility of collective deterrence.
