March 16, 2021 (EIRNS) On March 15 the U.S. Army announced its annual three-month exercise Defender-Europe. “Defender-Europe 21 activities begin this month across Europe and continue through June,” the release said. “Defender-Europe is an annual large-scale U.S. Army Europe- and Africa-led, multinational, joint exercise designed to build strategic and operational readiness and interoperability between U.S., NATO allies and partners…. More than 30,000 multinational forces from 27 nations will conduct nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in a dozen countries…. Defender-Europe 21 will also include significant involvement of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy,” the Army release stated.
Defender Europe 21, which probably should be regarded as a campaign of exercises rather than as one exercise, will include a number of other exercises from May to June:
• Swift Response — in early May, includes airborne operations in Estonia, Bulgaria, and Romania with more than 7,000 troops from 11 countries.
• Immediate Response — mid-May to early June, has more than 5,000 troops from eight countries in 31 training areas in a dozen countries running live-fire training and a joint over-the-shore logistics operation.
• Saber Guardian (mid-May through early-June) — more than 13,000 service members from 19 countries will conduct live fire and air and missile defense operations, plus a large scale medical evacuation.
