TALLINN, ESTONIA -- Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) cyber warriors worked shoulder to shoulder with allies and partners executing full-spectrum defensive cyberspace operations across four time zones during NATO’s flagship multinational cyber defense exercise Cyber Coalition 2025, Nov. 28 - Dec. 4.
The annual event brought together more than 1,300 participants from 29 NATO Allies, seven partner nations, the EU, academia and industry to hone collective defensive cyberspace operations in the increasingly contested cyber domain.
“Cyber Coalition continues to demonstrate that we are strongest when we train, innovate and defend together,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Heather Blackwell, 16th Air Force, Joint Force Headquarters - Cyber (Air Force) deputy commander, the 16th Air Force senior representative at the exercise.
“Cyberspace is contested every day, and exercises like this ensure we are prepared to detect threats early, respond decisively and protect our nations from malicious cyber activity.”
Cyber attacks do not stop at national borders, and according to The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, NSA and the FBI, threat actors – as seen with People’s Republic of China-linked Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon– continue positioning themselves inside information technology networks, enabling lateral movement into operational technology systems and creating opportunities to disrupt critical functions at a time of their choosing. In this environment, the ability to coordinate rapidly and effectively with Allies and partners attacks is paramount.
Against this backdrop, 16th Air Force cyber warriors reinforced homeland defense by actively integrating with Allies and partners to tackle a complex series of seven realistic scenarios. The storylines challenged participants to manage a range of advanced cyber incidents and demonstrate their ability to keep vital services running even under sustained cyber attacks.
The simulations tested defenders against cyberattacks on critical national infrastructure, space-related vulnerabilities, operations disruption, and malicious activity embedded in backup systems. Cyber defenders coordinated incident response, sustained operations throughout the crisis and synchronized their actions with Allied and partner cyber teams.
While one 16 AF team operated as the air component command in Tallinn, another executed mission scenarios from while at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, TX. The command also continued its cyber operator exchange by embedding U.S. operators with Romanian teams deepening cohesion and enabling real-time collaboration across national borders.
“Working side by side with our NATO partners gave us insight into the different ways allies detect and mitigate threats,” said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt Ryly Bumpus, 16th Air Force, who operated out of Estonia. “That shared understanding will allow us to respond in a more decisive manner, ensuring precision and seamless interoperability when real-world incidents occur.”
Sixteenth Air Force remains focused on engaging and defending forward – countering and deterring adversaries who aim to harm the homeland, and it allies by denying, disrupting, and degrading their capabilities.
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About 16th Air Force (AFCYBER)
The 16th Air Force, headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland, Texas, focuses on Operations in the Information Environment integrating: Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance; Cyber Warfare; Electromagnetic Warfare; Weather; Public Affairs; and Information Operations capabilities.
16th Air Force supports all of the geographic combatant commands through our Component-Numbered Air Force role and as the Service Cryptologic Component. As the Service component to U.S. Cyber Command, Sixteenth Air Force supports four combatant commands: U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. European Command, U.S. Space Command, and U.S. Strategic Command.
16th Air Force ensures that our Air Force and Nation are fast, resilient, and fully integrated in competition, crisis and conflict by incorporating information capabilities at operational and tactical levels, capitalizing on the value of information by leading the charge for uniquely-21st century challenges in the highly dynamic, seamless, and global information domain. For more information about 16th Air Force visit www.16af.af.mil.