MADRID - Over 36,000 NATO troops from over 30 different nations are currently taking part in Operation Trident Juncture.

The operation is designed to test and train troops of the NATO Response Force and Very High Readiness Response Force and is taking place across 16 different locations in Italy, Spain and Portugal.

It aims to see how NATO forces respond to "a changed security environment and challenges from the South and the East."

TJ2015 is divided into two parts, with the first, which ran from Oct. 3 until Oct. 16 aimed to test command and control elements, while the second part, which runs from Oct. 21 until Nov.  6 is a life exercise based on a scenario which requires "the use of military capabilities in an out of area crisis response mission. "

TJ2015 will test all kind of scenarios, from cyber-attacks, terrorism, Hybrid Warfare and conventional combat, as well as the resulting humanitarian crisis, such fighting would no-doubt produce (and which is all too relevant given the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis.)

This is the biggest NATO exercise in over a decade and the organization is confident it is in line with the new challenges the Alliance faces in a rapidly shifting geo-political framework.  (Xinhua)