More than 40,000 tests of digital systems and command-and-control solutions are being conducted at NATO's CWIX 2026 exercise in Bydgoszcz, the alliance's largest and most complex interoperability exercise to date, wrapping up Friday after running since June 8.
Nearly 4,000 military personnel and experts from 46 NATO member and partner nations are participating, testing more than 500 digital systems across 20 thematic areas. The exercise is hosted for the 17th time by the Joint Force Training Centre in Bydgoszcz and is conducted under the authority of NATO's Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia.
"The goal of CWIX is simple. We want to make sure that allied and partner forces can communicate, share classified information, make decisions, operate together and do so effectively when it is needed. And right now it is needed more than ever", said Lt. Gen. Marcus Annibale, deputy chief of staff for capability development at Allied Command Transformation, at a press conference Wednesday.
Annibale said the pace of modern warfare is putting new demands on allied forces across every domain — land, air, maritime, cyber and space. "The volume of data is growing exponentially. New technologies emerge rapidly, and potential adversaries adapt quickly. In such an environment, military effectiveness depends not only on having advanced capabilities, but also on the ability to combine those capabilities into one coherent operational force", he said.
The general also highlighted the deepening relationship between NATO and Ukraine through the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre, known as JATEC, based in Bydgoszcz. He said the center is fully operational and is integrating Ukrainian battlefield experience into NATO concepts, exercises and war games — particularly in the areas of drone warfare, counter-drone operations, battlefield data exploitation and critical infrastructure protection.
JATEC commander Brig. Gen. Wojciech Ozga said the center has moved from concept to reality. "The ambitious idea of creating a joint NATO-Ukraine organization that would draw knowledge and experience from the ongoing war in Ukraine and use that knowledge for practical transformation has been realized, and the result is a functioning institution. We have the personnel, the structure and the capability to start delivering tangible results", he said.
JATEC was officially inaugurated on Feb. 17, 2025.
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Source: PAP