In March 2026, a major milestone in cross-border crisis response will take place as the TALON exercise – the first European-wide crisis simulation for the NREN community.
Organised by the GÉANT project, TALON is designed to challenge participating organisations to respond to a realistic, high-pressure crisis scenario in real time. Through a series of simulated disruptions and complex decision-making scenarios, the exercise aims to strengthen coordination, communication, and resilience among NRENs across Europe.
Fully booked event
The exercise has reached full capacity, with a diverse group of participating organisations confirmed. The mix includes both large and small NRENs from across the continent, reflecting the broad range of capabilities and operational contexts within the community.
Each organisation will activate internal crisis teams and respond to a combination of technical and communications challenges, testing not only their own readiness, but also how they collaborate across borders during a shared incident.
Why TALON?
TALON builds on the success of the CLAW crisis management events, which have supported individual NRENs in developing internal crisis response plans. This new initiative takes things further: a real-time, multi-country simulation that mirrors the unpredictability and pressure of a real-world event affecting multiple organisations simultaneously.
The scenario is designed to be as close to operational reality as possible, with incomplete information, time pressure, communication challenges, and the need to balance service continuity with stakeholder expectations.
Charlie van Genuchten, Community Committee Chair and Project Lead for TALON, explains:
“TALON pushes us beyond individual crisis readiness into a reality-based, cross-organisational response. By having a joint exercise with a range of NRENs, we’re testing trust, communication, and collective resilience.”
What’s next?
In the lead-up to the simulation, the TALON team will continue working closely with participants to finalise preparations. Lessons learned from the exercise will be shared with the wider community at GÉANT Security Days 2026 (date and location to be announced soon) and used to support future sector-wide resilience planning.
TALON marks a significant step forward for European NRENs, from internal preparedness to coordinated crisis response on a continental scale.
For questions and further information, please contact TALON Project Lead, Charlie van Genuchten at charlie.vangenuchten@surf.nl
