SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – Exercise Strike Warrior 2026 has assembled more than 2,000 personnel for the UK Commando Force’s biggest collective exercise in 15 years. The commando-focused phase began on September 28 and runs through October 9. Training covers Scotland, the Western Isles, the North-West Approaches, Galloway, the Borders and the North Sea. Eight warships and 19 aircraft support the exercise. The Royal Navy is testing how commandos work with allied forces across land, sea and air.
Personnel from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Norway and the United States are taking part. Portuguese naval forces have also supported a major live-fire training mission near Cape Wrath. A German submarine carried members of 148 Commando Forward Observation Battery toward the Scottish coast. The troops then moved ashore in inflatable raiding craft. From concealed positions, the British teams directed gunfire from the Portuguese frigate NRP Dom Francisco de Almeida against simulated targets.
The Cape Wrath operation combined submarine movement, coastal reconnaissance and naval fire coordination. British observers established a position ashore and sent targeting information to the Portuguese ship at sea. The mission gave the teams experience directing live naval weapons from an allied platform. The battery said it had not coordinated live assets at this level of complexity for nearly 30 years. The unit forms part of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and specializes in directing artillery, aircraft and naval fire.
Allied ships support British commandos
Other Strike Warrior missions paired British observers with Dutch frigate HNLMS Van Amstel and Canadian frigate HMCS St. John’s. Both vessels operated with NATO’s Standing NATO Maritime Group One during the training period. Teams ashore identified targets and coordinated naval gunfire from the ships. The drills required close communication between British commandos and allied crews operating offshore. NATO forces also supported the wider maritime training activity across northern waters, adding multinational ships and aircraft to the exercise.
Strike Warrior covers more than naval gunfire and coastal operations. Commandos are conducting amphibious landings, boarding missions, intelligence work, logistics training and maritime security drills. Forces are also practicing anti-submarine warfare and using drones for reconnaissance, simulated strikes and resupply. Medical teams have rehearsed setting up protected underground treatment facilities. The Royal Navy said the exercise brings specialist parts of the UK Commando Force together at a scale not seen since British operations in Afghanistan.
Training across the High North
The exercise spreads units across a broad area instead of concentrating them at one landing site. Small teams can gather intelligence, track targets and direct support from ships or aircraft. Other units provide logistics, communications and firepower across the training area. The Royal Navy has linked the exercise to crisis-response training in the High North and North Atlantic. The structure also tests whether teams can maintain contact and support while operating far apart across difficult coastal and maritime terrain.
Strike Warrior 2026 combines British commandos with allied submarines, frigates, aircraft and support units in coordinated missions. The training includes live and simulated activity across sea, land and air environments. Allied crews have supplied naval gunfire, transport, surveillance and other support to teams operating ashore. Commanders are also testing communications and sustainment across dispersed locations. The exercise concludes on October 9 after nearly two weeks of commando-focused training involving multinational forces around northern Britain.