DEFENDER is the Army’s largest annual opportunity to exercise moving personnel and equipment into theater across modes for initial and follow-on operations critical to Large Scale Combat Operations. Led by U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the exercise focuses on the strategic deployment of CONUS-based forces, employment of Army Prepositioned Stock and follow-on exercises demonstrating lethality and interoperability with Allies and partners

DEFENDER 25 Outreach tour
DEFENDER 25 Infographic

Videos
Video by Spc. Mason Nichols
10th Mountain Division Conducts Air Assault During Mountain Peak 25
10th Combat Aviation Brigade
May 12, 2025 | 2:43
Soldiers with the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division move Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team to execute a joint forcible entry operation in a simulated force-on-force scenario for Mountain Peak 25-01 on Fort Drum, New York, May 10, 2025. JFE operations are fast-paced air and ground assaults designed to rapidly insert forces into critical areas to seize and hold key terrain. The scenario provides Soldiers with realistic, home-station training in large-scale combat operations as they prepare for an upcoming rotation to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, later this summer. (U.S. Army Video by Spc. Mason Nichols)
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  • Immediate Response

    AlbaniaBulgariaCroatiaGreeceKosovoMontenegroNorth MacedoniaSlovakia

  • Saber Guardian

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Press Information

enlightenedTo find information about filing a claim related to exercise DEFENDER activities, visit Claims Information and select your country.