PHOTOS: NATO navies hold massive missile defence drill in Scotland as tensions with North Korea continue to mount

Eight NATO powers have joined forces to take part in a massive missile defence training exercise — and the photos from it look extraordinary.

Britain, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain assembled at the UK Ministry of Defence Hebrides Range to take part in "Formidable Shield," a US-led exercise to train the countries to defend against ballistic missiles.

A total of 14 ships, ten aircraft, and about 3,300 personnel are involved in the exercise, NATO said in a statement.

Formidable Shield is the first time NATO allies have practiced defending against unpredictable ballistic missiles, it said.

The exercise began on September 24 and will run until October 18.

Scroll down to learn more about Formidable Shield through the photos below.

Formidable Shield has brought together eight different NATO navies.

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Rockin' the new #FormidableShield mission badges, delivered today! 👌#RCNavy#HMCSMontrealpic.twitter.com/LJfMVSP15W

The countries involvde are the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.

The exercises cover more than 1,500 km west of the Hebrides and commercial ships are forbidden from travelling through the training throughout the exercise, French aerospace company the Thales Group said.

The aim of the exercise is to train the countries' missile defence systems. Here's USS Mitscher launching a missile to intercept a simulated enemy missile.

Participating ships include: The Donald Cook and Winston S. Churchill from the US, the Somerset and Dragon from the UK, the De Ruyter and Tromp from the Netherlands, the Montréal from Canada, and the Alvaro de Bazán from Spain.

Here's a closer look of the Mitscher firing the SM-2 missile...