Maryland cyber personnel strengthen collective defense during NATO Exercise Locked Shields 26

CENTRAL FINLAND - Cyber personnel from the Maryland Air National Guard partnered with allied nations across the joint force to sharpen their defensive capabilities during NATO Exercise Locked Shields 26, one of the world’s largest and most complex live-fire cyber defense exercises, April 11-25, 2026.

Twelve Airmen from the 175th Cyberspace Operations Group augmented teams from the Virginia Air National Guard, Finland, and Estonia in a realistic, high-pressure environment that challenged participants to defend critical networks and infrastructure against a wide spectrum of simulated cyber threats.

“Locked Shields is an opportunity to demonstrate the agility and interoperability of our cyber defense capabilities alongside our allied and partner nations,” said Maryland Air National Guard Lt. Col. Bob DeLuca, 276th Cyberspace Operations Squadron flight commander. “Our goal for the exercise is to work together to protect the cyber terrain of military, governmental, and infrastructure networks against cyber threats.”

The exercise, hosted annually by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence since 2010, integrated technical defense with strategic decision-making, legal considerations, and other support staff to mirror the complexity of modern conflict in the cyber domain.

For the exercise scenario, participants were tasked with detecting, analyzing, and responding to cyber attacks targeting systems that support military operations, energy grids, communications, and other essential services. This blue team, or defensive cell, coordinated with adjacent blue teams from other allied areas of responsibility to restore functionality of these services, often across time zones and national boundaries.

Overall, the exercise consisted of 16 blue teams, as well as an offensive red team and other supporting elements operating from Tallinn, Estonia. More than 4,000 participants representing 40 nations came together for this year’s iteration.

The exercise also emphasized the importance of interoperability among allied and partner nations. By training together, participants were able to strengthen shared procedures, improve communication, and continue to build trust in responding to real-world cyber incidents. The lessons learned during the exercise directly inform how NATO partners and allies prepare for and respond to challenges.

“People come from diverse backgrounds, each bringing their own best practices and perspectives,” said Lt. Joona Vainio, a Finnish Defense Forces staff officer. “By exercising together, taking the time to understand one another, and learning about each other’s processes, the more we know about each other, and the easier it is to work together.”

The Maryland National Guard has partnered with Estonia through the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program since 1993. The exercise provided opportunities for Airmen to foster and make connections through this long-standing relationship.

“We have actively partnered with the Maryland [Air] cyber unit over the years and have developed a great relationship, so it’s an almost seamless transition to work together for exercises like Locked Shields,” said Estonian Defense Forces Lt. Col. Sander Soomre, Estonian Cyber and Information Operations Center commander. “Knowledge transfer is a two-way street. We both benefit from sharing our professional and technical sets.”

In addition, the exercise provided the opportunity for Maryland Airmen and their Estonian counterparts to collaborate with the Virginia National Guard and its partner nation, Finland, highlighting a multilateral approach to strengthening international military partnerships.

“We started out with a very small team on both sides in 2018, and it has grown to over 150 team participants,” said DeLuca. “With each exercise, we’ve been able to build relationships not only with our Estonian partners, but also other partner nations, and we continually strive to expand these partnerships at every opportunity.”