Distinguished Visitors (DVs) including senior military officers and diplomats from each of the JEF nations, as well as Ukraine attended London on the 14th of October 2025 to gain a deeper understanding of the TARASSIS activity – the largest JEF live activity held to date.
Starting in early September and running until the end of October, TARASSIS has been a large-scale rehearsal of JEF response activities, conducted across NATO’s northern flank, from Iceland to Norway to the Baltic Sea. This exercise represents the largest JEF activity in its 10-year history, involving dozens of ships and aircraft as well as more than 1000 troops from JEF nations and wider NATO Allies. TARASSIS underscores the organisation’s readiness and ability to project force in response to a request for help by any JEF nation during a crisis.
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The JEF’s Standing Joint Force Commander (SJFC), Major General Tom Bateman CBE, kicked off the event with a presentation. He said “As well as thanking all the participating nations that contributed to TARASSIS, the purpose of the day was to provide an overview of the scale, the cooperation and innovation we’ve seen during TARASSIS, and to share the vital lessons learnt”
Units taking part in TARASSIS, including 3 Commando and the British Army’s 11 Brigade and 8 Engineer Brigade set up displays to showcase their contributions in TARASSIS to give the DVs a first-hand perspective. Stands included showcasing the potent drone technology which enabled the infantry to obtain live information on the opposition and feed it back to the HQ, a Wildcat helicopter demonstrating the air element, and presentations from other units.
The lessons learnt from TARASSIS will help build on JEF activity as the JEF plans for 2026 and beyond.