Special Report: Exercise ‘Formidable Shield 25' expands multidomain IAMD elements

A US Army Avenger air-defence system on the MoD Hebrides Range in the UK engaging an incoming UAV swarm on 14 May as part of Exercise ‘Formidable Shield 25'. (US Army/Sergeant Yesenia Cadavid)

Exercise ‘Formidable Shield 25', organised by the United States and NATO, saw new elements introduced, including ground forces engaging unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rapid deployment and firing of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) vehicles, and a hitherto untried complexity of aerial target tracking and engagement, senior QinetiQ organisers, UK Royal Navy (RN), US Marine Corps (USMC), and US Navy (USN) officials have told Janes.

Now in its tenth year, the biennial Formidable Shield is Europe's largest integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) and live-fire exercise. In 2025 it was held between 1 and 31 May at the Andøya range in Northwest Norway, and in the QinetiQ-managed Ministry of Defence (MoD) Hebrides Range in Scotland, UK.

Featuring at least 17 ships from 10 NATO countries and Australia, ‘Formidable Shield 25' saw integration with NATO's Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOC) and a joint engagement zone for live fire from land, ships, and air-to-air. Participant units detected and destroyed subsonic, supersonic, and ballistic targets, including QinetiQ's Banshee and Hammerhead aerial and surface targets.

The exercise included Norwegian F-35s, UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons, NATO E-3A Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS), and the F-16s of various participants.

New elements

Participants in the 2025 exercise faced swarming attacks and had to work as a multidomain force to fully exercise their air defences.

Lieutenant Colonel Zach Leuthardt, director of Communication Strategy and Operations for the USMC Forces Europe/Africa, told Janes