NATO tests make Valencia and Sagunto ports like ‘mini-Normandy landing’

SPAIN, Italy and Portugal are hosting Trident Juncture 2015, Nato’s most ambitious manoeuvres for more than a decade.

Held in October and November, the exercise involves 36,000 troops from 30 countries and will be setting out from, and finishing in, Valencia, the Defence Ministry confirmed.

The Mediterranean exercise is designed to train and test the NATO Response Force created to be deployed quickly in response to new scenarios that include jihadi terrorism. Not only will it evaluate member countries’ battle-readiness but also their ability to deploy and assemble

Mobility and access to a hypothetical country requiring hypothetical aid or intervention will be decisive factors, which is where Valencia comes into the picture.  

From mid-September until the beginning of October, Valencia City and Sagunto will be the entry ports for troops, equipment, arms and vehicles from other NATO members. “It will be like a small-scale Normandy landing,” said Spanish military sources.