Around three thousand elite troops from the USA, the UK, and 22 other nations are participating in NATO’s largest special forces exercise in Europe, known as Trojan Footprint 2026. The ten-day operation, in ten different countries, is designed to prepare allied forces for threats such as sabotage, cyber attacks and covert infiltration by an unnamed enemy – most likely Russia. Training exercises, across the Mediterranean, Baltic, and Black Seas, involve complex land, sea and air operations. In one scenario near Greece, American and Greek special forces parachuted into the sea at night before launching a simulated assault on an enemy base. The exercise highlights Europe’s dependence on American military support at a time when concerns persist about possible reductions in US commitments to NATO under Donald Trump. Military leaders view the operation as essential preparation for increasingly uncertain security threats facing Europe and its allies.