Trojan Footprint is a multinational, joint-combined exercise and the largest special operations forces exercise in the European theater in which the United States participates. Forces from Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and the United States took part.
“The overarching purpose of Trojan Footprint is to demonstrate a competent, credible, SOF capability to defend every inch of the alliance,” said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Richard E. Angle, commanding general of U.S. Special Operations Command Europe and NATO Allied Special Operations Forces Command. “This exercise ensures that through shared expertise and applied lessons learned, every participating nation emerges stronger, more agile, and completely unified in our collective defense.”
Angle said the exercise gives participating forces an opportunity to demonstrate combat credibility and improve interoperability. He said it also allows allied and partner forces to test new capabilities together in demanding conditions.
“It really gives us the opportunity to show that we’re combat credible and to build interoperability between those forces to ensure that, if required, we can operate seamlessly together in any type of environment,” said Angle. “Working together builds trust, it builds cohesion, and it allows us to test a lot of new capabilities.”
Angle said Trojan Footprint also allowed the United States and its European allies to apply lessons being learned from the war in Ukraine. He said the exercise showed how allied special operations forces can bring combat-ready capabilities together at scale.
“Our adversaries should look at this and see our ability to bring combat-credible capability together at a scale that can defend every inch of the alliance,” he said. “We continue to build on the generational relationships we have here in Europe, that builds a trust that really allows us to move at the speed of relevance.”
In the Balkans, Green Berets from the U.S. Army 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) trained with Greek and North Macedonian special forces. The training included high-stress scenarios designed to simulate responses to a crisis or conflict in the region.
“We did a lot of close-quarters combat drills, practiced moving through rugged terrain, and ran mock missions,” said a Green Beret team commander with 20th SFG(A). “The whole point was to make sure that if things ever hit the fan for real, we already know exactly how to fight next to each other on the same battlefield.”
Interoperability between nations and between different military components was one of the central goals of the exercise. The Green Beret team commander described interoperability as the ability to work effectively together despite differences in language, equipment and procedures.
“Imagine if you and I tried to build a deck in your backyard, but you only spoke Greek, I only spoke English, and we brought completely different sets of tools,” he said. “It would be a mess. It’s making sure our radios can actually talk to their radios, that we understand their hand signals, and they understand our tactics. When we worked with the Greeks and North Macedonians, the goal was to sync up our gear and our mindset.”
The team commander said tactical training was important, but that time spent together after weapons were cleared also helped build trust and rapport. He said relationship-building remains a core part of the Green Berets’ mission.
“For Green Berets, building relationships is our bread and butter,” he said. “One night after a long field exercise, the Greek guys brought out some of their local food, and we just sat around trading stories, joking around, and swapping unit patches. You quickly realize that even though they wear a different flag on their shoulder, they are the exact same kind of guys we are; hardworking, dedicated, and proud of their countries.”
SOCEUR said Trojan Footprint 26 demonstrated the lethality of NATO special operations deterrence. The exercise also projected the alliance’s collective will and capability to defend itself in a rapidly evolving technological threat environment.
That evolving environment included a growing role for the U.S. Space Force in special operations. During Trojan Footprint 26, this included Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking, known as TacSRT, as well as GPS and GNSS jamming.
“When we think about what space is offering SOF enterprise and our allies and partners throughout Exercise Trojan Footprint, we understand that our adversaries are providing a denied, degraded and contested environment,” said U.S. Space Force Maj. Edward Tabbutt, Trojan Footprint 26 effects cell chief. “This is the current environment we face. Our Space Force Guardians will be providing the opportunity to better understand the capabilities we can bring to the fight.”
The exercise also featured the integration of autonomous technology aimed at addressing contested logistics. SOCEUR said Trojan Footprint 26 marked the operational debut in the European theater of the Long-Range Grasshopper, an expendable, low-cost cargo glider.
The Long-Range Grasshopper is capable of delivering 500-pound payloads over hundreds of miles. Successful precision drops in Romania and North Macedonia demonstrated how the joint force could sustain isolated units in high-threat environments without risking the lives of manned resupply crews.
SOCEUR said the milestone reflected a broader NATO shift toward unmanned sustainment. The Grasshopper flights required coordination among SOCEUR logisticians, commercial engineers and allied partners on the ground.
The use of autonomous systems during Trojan Footprint 26 showed how the alliance is adapting to preserve operational agility on the modern battlefield. SOCEUR said the exercise highlighted the importance of combining special operations expertise with emerging technologies.
“We have incredibly capable allies in special operations in all domains,” Angle said. “They have techniques, tactics and procedures based on their environments that we can learn from, and we have things we can teach them.”
Since its inception in 2016, Trojan Footprint has developed into the premier and largest SOF-led exercise in Europe. As a routine biennial large-scale global exercise, Trojan Footprint 26 integrated the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Space Force with allied nations.
SOCEUR said the exercise demonstrated the multinational cooperation required to maintain ready and credible forces. It said Trojan Footprint 26 postures resilient forces to deter aggression and defend regional security.
The command said the exercise also reflected the partnerships needed to protect the common interests of participating nations. Trojan Footprint 26 concluded as a demonstration of allied special operations cooperation across multiple domains and operating environments.
