B2 The Daily of Geopolitical Europe. News. Files. Reflections. Reports

Brief blogMissions Operations

The spearhead unfolds

Czech soldiers of the 43rd Airborne Battalion during the alert phase of "Noble Jump" (NATO - April 2015)
Czech soldiers of the 43rd Airborne Battalion during the alert phase of "Noble Jump" (NATO - April 2015)

(B2) NATO has begun to test, full-scale, his new strength 'spearhead', intended to be deployed more quickly, and mainly focused on territorial defence, in particular against Russia.

L"Noble Jump" exercisehas started en Zagan, in Poland on June 9. The units assigned to task force very high-intensity preparedness joint forces (VJTF) has received the order to unfold Tuesday 9 June. It will stay put until 19 June, as a goal " to test and to refine strength » the principle of which was decided at the last Alliance summit in September 2014, in Wales (read: The NRF was very slow, this time we promise you it will be fast).

More from 2100 soldiers from new NATO countries participate in exercise : Dutch and Czech airmobile troops, German and Norwegian and German mechanized infantry, Lithuanian and Polish special forces, Belgian artillery, American helicopters and a Hungarian civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) unit.

The allied shield is in place

This exercise is part of a series of exercises, called "Allied Shield", which have a common objective: "demonstrate that NATO members are united in their commitment to collective defence", whether on the flank "south or east of the Alliance". All of these exercises are defensive “we clearly specify to the Alliance. Three other exercises are thus planned: BALTOPS, a major Allied naval exercise in the Baltic off the coast of Poland; SABER STRIKE, a "land" exercise in the Baltic countries and TRIDENT JOUST, a command and control exercise of the NRF (the rapid reaction force) in Romania. In total, around 15.000 soldiers from 19 different countries and 3 partner countries will take part.

(NGV)

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

s2Member®