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UK to take part in biggest NATO exercise of the decade
DB News: 05/10/2015 - 15:42
Exercise Trident Juncture will unite armed forces across the world to test the NATO Response Force (NRF) and other allied forces. The exercise is expected to last five weeks and involves over 30 nations, beginning 4 October and taking place in Italy, Portugal and Spain.
230 military units, 140 aircraft and over 60 ships, drawing in an estimated 36,000 international troops will take part in Trident Juncture, which has been designed to put the Nato Response Force (NFR) through its paces, focusing specifically on response to a crisis situation and its flexibility and capability of responding to threats from multiple directions.
The two-part exercise has been designed to ensure that NATO allies and able to work together effectively. Trident Juncture is also a method of determining the functions of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force before it becomes fully operational next year.
The UK will commit approximately 2,800 personnel to the operation, namely, an Army Brigade Headquarters and Battlegroup, three Royal Navy warships and aircrafts, as well as Typhoon fighter jets and helicopters.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “In a darker and more dangerous world, it is vital that we work with our NATO partners so we can respond to any threat.
“That’s why the UK will be right there at the heart of Exercise Trident Juncture – contributing nearly 3,000 troops, our two largest warships and our Typhoon fighter jets.
“The exercise will help preparations for NATO’s new rapid reaction taskforce, which the UK will provide troops for every year into the next decade and which we will lead in 2017”.
Vice Admiral Ian Corder, the UK’s Military representative to NATO and the EU, said: “Trident Juncture is the biggest and most ambitious NATO exercise in more than a decade, focussed on exercising crisis response, collective defence, and helping to shape the future adaptation and posture of the Alliance.
“It will demonstrate the Alliance’s capability, readiness, and ability to address whatever threats it may face, now and in the future.
“I am delighted the UK personnel will be playing such a major part in this key undertaking alongside our allies and partners. It will be a clear demonstration of the UK’s unwavering commitment to NATO solidarity and security”.
