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Czech army to take part in several allied exercises in 2015

Xinhua, January 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Czech army will participate in several large allied military exercises in 2015, Czech General Staff spokeswoman Jana Ruzickova said on Wednesday.

The exercises include Ample Strike, Baltic Eye, Lion Effort, Strong Sword and Trident Juncture, said the spokesman, adding the government approved the list of planned exercises on Monday.

A number of 1,400 Czech troops, mechanised, artillery and parachute units and pilots with L-159 fighters and Mi-helicopters will take part in the possible large NATO exercise that to be held in Hohenfels, Germany, in August 2015. The commander of the Czech 7th mechanised brigade will control the whole exercise. The aim of the exercise is to align mechanised, airborne and artillery units with outposts observers and air forces.

One of the most important exercises alliance will be the Trident Juncture, where soldiers will rehearse solutions to crisis scenarios outside the territory of NATO member countries. It will be held in Spain, Portugal and Italy at the turn of October and November in 2015. A total of 240 Czech troops with aircraft and other equipment will participate it.

A certification exercise of the Visegrad Group battlegroup, comprising Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak soldiers, will take place in Poland, with up to 450 Czech troops participating. This battlegroup should be ready for reaction during the first half of 2016.

In late September and early October in 2015, about 600 Czech rapid reaction troops will train with their German and Dutch colleagues in the Strong Sword exercise that to be organised in Germany.

One of the largest exercise on Czech territory will be Ample Strike 2015, in which forward air controllers and aircraft crews will be testing their cooperation. Apart from the Czech army, 300 foreign troops with 30 aircraft will take part in it.

Another exercise for aircraft, Lion Effort 2015, is mainly for Czech pilots of Gripen fighter jets. An AWACS aircraft from the warning and control system, and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, a refueling tanker will join the exercise besides.

For the Baltic Eye, two L-159 fighters to train joint defence of an air base in the Baltics once a month. This training is one of the measures taken in order to assure the eastern allies that the NATO pledge of collective defence has been effective. Eendit