BRAVE BEDOUIN 2026 Exercise: Countering the NRBC Threat

On the grassy lands of Jutland, fifteen Air firefighters participated in the BRAVE BEDUIN 26 exercise on Monday, May 4, 2026, supervised from the military site of the Ingeniørregimentet (Engineer Regiment), in Skive, Denmark. Coming from the Security Fire and Rescue Squadrons (ESIS), the Air Firefighters Training Center (CFPA), and the 1st Specialized Air Firefighters Squadron (ESPA), these French Airmen, experts in CBRN defense, deployed alongside their counterparts from 18 NATO member nations in this large-scale training. Orchestrated by the Danish Defense, this major exercise of the Alliance, focusing on advice, command, and control (command and control – C2) in the CBRN domain, involves over 400 specialized CBRN operators. Among the participating countries are Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, the United States, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Romania, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, and Slovenia, who have all responded to this 47th edition.

[Context: The article reports on a multinational military exercise in Denmark involving CBRN defense training.]

Training and Testing the C2 Chain

Experts in firefighting and CBRN, the Air firefighters regularly work to maintain their skills on the field, with training in command and operations through C2. The French detachment’s objective is to train in crisis management of CBRN incidents in a multinational environment to enhance interoperability, in a high-intensity context. The Airmen present have experience in the field and CBRN work, seeking to improve C2 with advanced skills, as stated by Commander Cyril, director of the French detachment’s exercise.

Split into several CBRN cells on the Danish military base, the Air firefighters will train this week on a structured alert system between different command levels, allowing for information collection and reporting based on national and multinational procedures. A new feature of this edition is that France, for the first time, is the lead nation in coordinating CBRN management as the coordinator at the Area Control Center, overseeing all incidents reported alongside Germany.

With around fifteen scenarios played out daily, ranging from chemical spills to radiological attacks and virus outbreaks, the goal is to address and neutralize the full spectrum of CBRN threats through the lens of C2.

[Fact Check: CBRN stands for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear defense.]