In NATO, one exercise ends and another begins, so that there’s a continuous wave of exercises varying only in intensity. Exercise Thracian Star, an air force exercise in Bulgaria, ended yesterday and 8 F-16s from the U.S. air base in Aviano, Italy went back home. The exercise consisted of “offensive and defensive counter-air missions, protection of high value assets, and close air support in a contested environment,” reported Air Force Times.
The next exercise, called Agile Spirit, kicks off on July 26 in Georgia, involving 700 U.S. military personnel–including National Guard troops from the U.S. state of Georgia—and 1,600 Georgian troops, with another 250 troops from other participating nations, reports UPI. “The brigade-level exercise will incorporate a simulated command post exercise, field training, and joint multinational, battalion-level combined arms live-fire exercises,” U.S. Army Europe and Africa officials said in a press release. “Agile Spirit 2021 enhances U.S., Georgian, allied and regional partner forces’ readiness and interoperability in a realistic training environment,” officials said. Fourteen other nations will join the United States and Georgian forces including Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy and Azerbaijan.
