The U.S. Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) defines 7 exercise types across two categories. Each PSEF-X exercise is classified below according to this framework. Full Glossary QC Validation Report ETEM Matrix
Confronted 10 heads of government with a simultaneous smallpox aerosol attack on 6 cities across NATO nations, revealing catastrophic gaps in international coordination.
The exercise that started it all. A covert smallpox attack on 3 U.S. malls — designed to be inherently unwinnable. Conducted 3 months before 9/11.
Held 2.5 months before COVID-19's first case. Simulated "CAPS" — a novel coronavirus from Brazilian pig farms killing 65M in 18 months. JHU + WEF + Gates Foundation.
A fringe group engineered a parainfluenza/Nipah hybrid virus. Within one year: 900M dead worldwide, 15M in the U.S. alone. The most lethal scenario in exercise history.
Most expensive war game in U.S. history ($250M). Lt. Gen. Van Riper sank 16 warships with asymmetric tactics. Exercise was stopped, ships "re-floated," and rules changed to ensure Blue victory.
5-day NATO exercise that simulated DEFCON 1 nuclear strike. Soviets believed it was real — loaded nuclear warheads onto bombers. One of the closest moments to nuclear war since Cuba 1962.
Classified for 29 years. Every nuclear scenario ended in global annihilation: 500M+ dead, Northern Hemisphere uninhabitable. Destroyed the concept of "limited nuclear war" forever.
8-month HHS exercise simulating H7N9 influenza from China. The 70-page after-action report, completed months before COVID-19, found the U.S. catastrophically unprepared.
A 75-page narrative scenario predicting with eerie accuracy: novel coronavirus from SE Asia, vaccine hesitancy via social media, EUA controversies, and post-pandemic accountability crises.
The congressionally mandated national exercise series that tested America's "Top Officials" against real-world CBRN terrorism — the only true full-scale exercises in the U.S. biodefense archive. 4 iterations, 25,000+ participants.
A WHO-coordinated multinational TTX testing crisis communication between G7+ health security partners during a simultaneous smallpox bioterror attack — the missing link between Dark Winter (2001) and Atlantic Storm (2005).
A tabletop exercise at the Munich Security Conference simulating an engineered monkeypox bioterror attack — published 6 months before the real 2022 mpox outbreak, making it the "Event 201 of monkeypox."
A 3-day UK government CPX that simulated peak pandemic with 950+ officials across 12 departments. Found the NHS would collapse. Report classified as "too terrifying" for 4 years until forced release during COVID-19.
The “Event 201 sequel” — first major pandemic TTX conducted after COVID-19. Simulated a novel pathogen (SEERS) with higher lethality than COVID that disproportionately kills children. Even post-COVID leaders couldn’t agree on basic containment measures.
The “hidden sister” of Exercise Cygnus — a UK MERS-CoV coronavirus simulation classified for 5 years. Found PPE stockpile gaps and contact tracing infrastructure absent. Released only after FOI battles during COVID-19. The UK tested coronavirus response and buried the report.
Smallpox bioterrorism at Fiji’s Nadi Airport — testing Pacific region vulnerability after the 2017 horsepox synthesis proved synthetic smallpox is feasible for $100K. Mathematical modelling showed 1B+ vaccine doses needed if containment fails. 26 countries affected by Day 40.
The Mataika sequel — conducted in December 2019, the same month COVID-19 emerged. Mathematical modelling proved every 7-day vaccination delay doubles epidemic size. WHO stockpile pledges broke under pressure. Speed of response is the single most critical variable.
The first major nationwide pandemic flu simulation in the UK. Revealed the need for mass burial sites, exposed broken antiviral distribution chains, and found local authorities overwhelmed across every metric. Published Aug 2007.
A 2010 Rockefeller Foundation scenario predicting with startling accuracy: a pandemic from China, mandatory masks, temperature scanning, border closures, authoritarian government responses, and citizen pushback — a full decade before COVID-19.
The largest pandemic simulation in UK history — a Tier 1 national emergency exercise involving every government department post-COVID. Simulated a novel enterovirus disproportionately affecting children with respiratory failure and paralysis.