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MILEX 26 / RDC LIVEX 26

Building EU Rapid Response through Multinational Planning and Deployment

2 April 2026

The European Union’s Military Exercise MILEX 26, incorporating the Live Exercise (LIVEX) component of the Rapid Deployment Capacity (RDC), stands as one of the most important training events of 2026. It tests and trains the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) and EU Rapid Response Forces in the full cycle of planning and executing an EU crisis management operation in a complex threat environment.

Planning Conferences

The Initial, Main and Final Planning Conferences (held in Segovia, Spain) transformed high-level objectives into synchronized timelines, scenarios and training goals. Divided into syndicates, participants addressed steering and governance, information and communications systems, logistics and movement, operational timelines, budgets, legal frameworks and public outreach. The scenario, injects, events and objectives served as tools to rehearse collective decision-making under pressure.

MILEX 26 is structured in sequential phases

  • Comprehensive Understanding of the Environment (CUOE) in support of MILEX26 (19-30 January 2026)
  • Crisis Response Planning (CRP), Alert System Exercise (ALERTEX) and Information Briefing (26 February – 13 March 2026)
  • Multinational Detailed Deployment Plan (MNDDP) (23–27 March 2026)
  • Strategic Deployment and Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration (RSOM-I) (24 May – 14 June 2026)
  • Communications Exercise (COMMEX) (3–5 June 2026)
  • Battle Staff Training (BST) (6–9 June 2026)
  • Command Post Exercise (CPX) and Combat Enhancement Training (CET) (10–16 June 2026)
  • Distinguished Visitors Day (DVD) (18 June 2026)
  • Final LIVEX in Spain: realistic field validation of procedures, interoperability and readiness.

© MPCC

Operations Headquarters

The Operations Headquarters is located at the MPCC in Brussels, while the Force Headquarters (F)HQ is provided by Eurocorps. Together, these structures coordinate planning, command and control across strategic, operational and tactical levels.

Spain, as Framework Nation, leads the European Union Battle Group (EUBG) 26/27 and contributes the majority of its core forces, reinforcing the exercise’s multinational character and demonstrating Spain’s central role in EU defence readiness.

Strategic Compass

Through MILEX 26, the EU reaffirms its commitment under the Strategic Compass to become a credible security provider, capable of rapid, coordinated and effective responses to crises in support of international peace and stability.