U.S. Strategic Command has begun this year’s edition of the annual nuclear command & control exercise known as Global Thunder.

As we mentioned in last month’s article on what is believed to have been a ‘Skymaster exercise’, the annual Exercise Global Thunder was expected to take place, as usual, in October or November 2025. We now have confirmation from U.S. Strategic Command, or STRATCOM, that Global Thunder 26 officially commenced on Oct. 21, 2025. Contents U.S. Strategic Command has begun this year’s edition of the annual nuclear command & control exercise known as Global Thunder. Wider Picture

Global Thunder exercises, along with the sister Global Lightning exercises that usually take place in the Spring, are large-scale training regimes that see U.S. strategic forces as

See Full Page