Armed Forces
Saber Strike Begins: Danish Leopards and German MLRS Launchers in Drawsko Pomorskie
Barry Kavanagh, prezes O.C.E. Technology. Fot. O.C.E. Technology
A tactical exercise which is a part of the Saber Strike operation has just begun in Drawsko Pomorskie. The operation involves ca. 2100 soldiers from the Giżycko-based 15th Mechanized Brigade of the Polish Army and from several allied elements, including a Danish element equipped with the Leopard 2A5 tanks and German artillery units using the PzH 2000 howitzers and MLRS rocket launchers.
According to the information published by Major Zbigniew Truszynski, the exercise is going to last until 19th June. Its scope additionally includes tactical training (defence, assault and infiltration), along with live-fire training session. The Saber Strike exercise takes place, simultaneously, in Poland and three Baltic Republics. The exercise involves ca. 6 thousand soldiers in total.
The Drawsko Pomorskie training involves some elements of the Giżycko-based 15th Mechanized Brigade, equipped, among other equipment,with the T-72 tanks, BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Spike ATGW’s. The operation is also supported by some allied elements as well, as it involves the US Army units using the M1A2 Abrams tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, along with the Dannish Leopard 2A5DK tanks and the Bundeswehr’s Boxer APC’s, PzH 2000 howitzers and modified MLRS launchers, designated locally as MARS II. Some elements of the French-German brigade are also involved in the operational activities.
The Saber Strike exercise constitutes a part of a greater plan regarding the NATO activity in Mid-Eastern Europe, also known as Allied Shield. The plan also includes the Noble Jump training course, which is to train deployment of the NATO quick reaction forces to Poland, along with the Baltops maritime exercise involving ca. 50 vessels. Trident Joust exercise, the aim of which is to train deployment of the NATO joint forces command in Romania, is also a part of the operation. In total, the Allied Shield training involves ca. 15 000 troops.