Key Developments
On 19 September 2026, NATO said allied defence chiefs met in Copenhagen to review deterrence, defence innovation, readiness and support for Ukraine. NATO also confirmed that Germany’s General Carsten Breuer was elected as the next Chair of the NATO Military Committee.
Key Statistics
- 3 years: length of the next NATO Military Committee chair’s term, according to NATO
- 77 participants: historical attendance at the NATO in the North course, according to the Norwegian Armed Forces
- 11 nations: historical representation at the NATO in the North course, according to the Norwegian Armed Forces
- 30 centres: NATO-accredited Centres of Excellence referenced in readiness work, according to NATO Allied Command Transformation
Main Body
On 19 September 2026, NATO said its Military Committee met in Copenhagen for its annual conference, where allied chiefs of defence reviewed collective deterrence and defence after the Ankara summit. NATO said the meeting also elected Germany’s General Carsten Breuer as the next Chair of the NATO Military Committee, with his term due to begin in summer 2027.
NATO said the defence chiefs discussed innovation in military capabilities, allied readiness and continued support for Ukraine. On the same day, Joint Arctic Command (Danish Defence) said defence chiefs from allied Arctic-bordering states met in Copenhagen to discuss regional security, domain awareness and operational coordination linked to NATO Arctic planning and the Arctic Sentry exercise.
The Copenhagen discussions followed recent alliance work on northern operations. On 17 September 2026, the Norwegian Armed Forces said the NATO Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations and the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies held a NATO in the North course for military and security personnel from allied and partner nations. On 4 September 2026, NATO Allied Command Transformation said Centres of Excellence directors met in Stavanger to improve support to NATO commands, including in maritime, cold-weather and cyber fields.
The announcements mattered because NATO framed the Copenhagen conference around readiness, deterrence and capability development, while Joint Arctic Command (Danish Defence) linked Arctic coordination to the changing security environment. For governments, those priorities affected defence planning, force interoperability and the alliance’s ability to coordinate operations across northern and European security theatres.
