Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska,  Agency: Newsflash

This is the moment fighter jets take off and land onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth during NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to check on the first phase of Steadfast Defender 2021 exercises off the coast of Portugal.

Stoltenberg, 62, a Norwegian politician who has served as the 13th Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 2014, checked on the progress of Steadfast Defender 2021 exercises in the Atlantic last week.

The first phase of a three-part Steadfast Defender exercise routine ended off the coast of Portugal on 30th May.

Part one was a collective maritime defence exercise led by NATO and involving 19 ships from 11 nations with over 5,000 participants.

Part two focuses on the preparation of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe Area of Responsibility (SACEUR), military mobility, and the deployment of the NATO Response Force.

Part three involves additional training which includes the US-led Saber Guardian exercise in Romania where NATO nations perform redeployment operations to their home stations.

Steadfast Defender 2021 is a NATO-led training exercise to ensure that forces are well trained and able to respond to any threat at any moment.

On 7th May, Stoltenberg was quoted as saying, “Exercise ‘Steadfast Defender 2021’ will test NATO’s readiness and military mobility, with forces deploying across land and sea, all the way from North America to the Black Sea region and off the coast of Portugal… with over 9,000 troops, [demonstrating] that NATO has the capabilities and resolve to protect all allies against any threat.”

The footage shows F-35B fighter jets taking off and landing onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth during Stoltenberg’s visit last week.