With the regional defence exercise RED STORM BRAVO, the Bundeswehr will be training in Hamburg from 25-27 September 2025 with around 500 soldiers together with blue light organisations, Hamburg authorities and companies in a fictitious scenario.

RED STORM BRAVO starts: Bundeswehr and civilian actors practise together from Thursday

The regional defence exercise RED STORM BRAVO begins next Thursday, 25 September 2025. As already announced several times, the Bundeswehr will be training in Hamburg from 25-27 September 2025 with around 500 soldiers together with blue light organisations, Hamburg authorities and companies in a fictitious scenario.

The RED STORM BRAVO manoeuvre conducted by the German Armed Forces is taking place in various parts of Hamburg and in the port. As part of the exercise, a convoy of military wheeled vehicles will drive through parts of Hamburg's city centre during the night from Thursday to Friday. Bundeswehr helicopters will also be deployed throughout the exercise.

Comprehensive information for the population

The RED STORM BRAVO exercise was accompanied by numerous communication measures in the run-up to the event in order to inform the people of Hamburg comprehensively and in good time. Among other things, information is available on the Internet (Red Storm Bravo: Bundeswehr Exercise 2025 in Hamburg) and the social media (www.facebook.com/Bundeswehr.Hamburg/).

In order to keep the emergency numbers 110 and 112 free, citizens are asked to call the central authorities number 115 if they have any questions about the exercise. The Bundeswehr's citizens' hotline is available for enquiries relating to RED STORM BRAVO at [email protected] and 030 1824-24242.

Scenario

The exercise in Hamburg simulates the deployment of NATO troops to Germany's eastern border in the event of an escalating conflict on the borders of the Baltic states. The focus is on civil-military cooperation in order to strengthen Germany as a central hub for defence measures in the event of an alliance crisis. The RED STORM BRAVO exercise starts at the Reichspräsident-Ebert-Kaserne in Hamburg-Iserbrook and involves the deployment of NATO troop contingents from the harbour to the east, including night-time road movements and dealing with incidents such as numerous wounded. In addition to around 500 soldiers, civilian blue-light organisations, authorities and companies from the port and logistics sector are also involved in order to practise the overall national defence task and improve coordination between military and civilian players. An operations centre in the barracks facility coordinates the exercise, while extensive information measures prepare the population of Hamburg for possible disruptions. The Bundeswehr state commands act as the central point of contact for civilian authorities at state level.

See also the statement by the Commander of the Hamburg Regional Command, Captain Kurt Leonards,

on NDR: Regional Commander Leonards on compulsory military service and "Red Storm Bravo"

Background

The Bundeswehr state commands are the first point of contact for the state government, districts, independent cities and civilian authorities in all matters relating to civil-military cooperation. They are responsible for the territorial contribution to national and alliance defence. There is a Bundeswehr state command in every federal state in Germany