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22 Sep 21. US airmen participate in parachute training exercise in Netherlands. The participating Airmen conducted a series of integrated parachute drops alongside Nato allies. A group of US Airmen from various organisations within US Air Forces Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) participated in a multinational parachute training exercise in the Netherlands. The exercise, named Falcon Leap 21, was inspired by Operation Market Garden, an allied Second World War airborne mission.
During the drill, US airmen, along with other Nato allies, participated in a series of integrated parachute drops.
The Dutch Air Force led the exercise, which was conducted at several military installations across the country.
In addition to the US and the Netherlands, military personnel from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, the UK, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland and Portugal participated in the training.
USAFE-AFAFRICA commander General Jeff Harrigian said: “Falcon Leap 21 is an exciting opportunity because it gets to the very heart of USAFE-AFAFRICA’s mission, which is building strong relationships with our European allies and partners as we live, work and train alongside them.
“Celebrating our shared values and experience during events like Falcon Leap reinforces the advantages of our alliance and strengthens our readiness to respond to any challenge that confronts us.”
In Falcon Leap 21, the US sent airmen from USAFE-AFAFRICA headquarters at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, as well as troops from other German and Italian bases.
Airmen and C-130J aircraft assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron, 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein AB, and the 169th Airlift Squadron, 182d Airlift Wing, Peoria Air National Guard Base, Illinois, US, were also associated with the exercise. Earlier this year, the airforces of the UK, US and the Netherlands participated in Exercise Point Blank over the North Sea. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
21 Sep 21. Multinational military exercise Rapid Trident 21 begins in Ukraine. Around 6,000 troops from 15 nations will participate in the multinational exercise. A multinational military exercise called Rapid Trident 21 has commenced in Ukraine with an opening ceremony at Central City Stadium near the city of Yavoriv. Around 6,000 troops from 15 nations, including 4,000 soldiers from Ukraine, will participate in this annual training exercise. The military drill will primarily seek to boost combat readiness, defence capabilities and interoperability among the forces.
It is expected to feature joint jumps of Ukrainian and US paratroopers and battalion tactical exercises of a multinational battalion among others. US participation in the exercise will involve the Washington Army National Guard 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which is deployed in Ukraine since April this year. Another 150 US Army representatives will participate as mission enablers.
Ukrainian brigadier general and Rapid Trident 21 co-director from the Ukrainian side Vladyslav Klochkov said: “This exercise is not just another stage of military skills improvement but also an important step toward Ukraine’s European integration. It will strengthen the operational capabilities of our troops, improve the level of interoperability between units and headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the US and Nato partners.”
The Rapid Trident 21 exercise is expected to end on 1 October 2021, according to a Reuters report. The exercise comes at a time when Ukraine is seeking closer ties with western countries amid tensions with neighbouring Russia. Earlier this year, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced a $150m security assistance aid to Ukraine. Recently, Ukrainian Government entity Ukroboronprom signed a multi-year cooperation agreement with US-based defence company Global Ordnance. The move will help Ukraine use Global Ordnance’s supply chain and manufacturing partnerships to procure defence items and technologies. (Source: army-technology.com)
22 Sep 21. US Army concludes Dynamic Front 21 Phase 2 exercise in Turkey. The exercise was cancelled last year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The US Army has concluded the Dynamic Front 21 Phase 2 exercise conducted near the Polatli Training Area in Turkey.
This year, more than 30 nations participated in the exercise across five locations in four European countries across. The locations include Grafenwoehr Training Area and Wiesbaden, Germany; Torun Training Area in Poland; Adazi Training Area in Poland; and Polatli Training Area in Turkey.
US Navy Illinois National Guard 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery Regiment, 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) battalion commander lieutenant colonel Justin Kramer said: “We accomplished the goals of this exercise and met our training objectives. This primarily included interoperability and communication between fire support platforms with our allies.
“The phenomenal cooperation enacted by our allies enabled sharing of information and best practices throughout the exercise. It was an honour to be the first National Guard unit hosted by Turkey for a Nato exercise and their hospitality went above and beyond.”
The second phase was introduced in this year’s exercise to expand training, reports Daniela Vestal.
Last year, Dynamic Front 20 was cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The Dynamic Front 21 exercise allowed the US, allied and partner nations to train together to increase interoperability, mainly at a tactical level, and develop solutions to address gaps in the theatre fires complex and multi-echelon fires.
Nato Allied Land Command commander lieutenant general Rodger Cloutier said: “This exercise is critical to building the readiness and interoperability amongst Nato allied and partner land forces, and executing a second iteration allows us to expand our scope of training.
“I’m excited to have these forces shooting, moving, and communicating together in Turkey, the host nation of Nato Allied Land Command, for the first time in Dynamic Front history.” (Source: army-technology.com)
23 Sep 21. Swedish Army hosts multinational Joint Protector 21 command post exercise. The Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) is hosting the multinational Joint Protector 21 command-post exercise in Älvdalen.
The UK-led ten-day exercise is scheduled to end on 26 September.
Joint Protector 21 aims to enhance multilateral operational command-post cooperation between Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) countries.
JEF is a coalition of ten countries, namely Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.
The multinational command post exercise involves fictitious events.
As part of these events, the exercise staff is required to gather data, coordinate, plan and give orders to participating units.
Swedish Armed Forces brigadier-general Johan Pekkari is taking part in the exercise as deputy chief of the multi-national staff.
Pekkari said: “This exercise is important for the JEF cooperation and for the Swedish Armed Forces in order to enhance our ability to offer host nation support to a large multi-national exercise on Swedish territory.”
(Source: army-technology.com)
23 Sep 21. Northrop Grumman Connects US and International Crews in All-Virtual Air Mobility Command Training Exercise. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has successfully organized and conducted a first-of-its-kind, fully distributed, international virtual training event for the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC). Coalition Virtual Guardian 2021 (CVG 21), involved air mobility partners from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada in a synthetic exercise that mirrored activities and mission profiles in live training exercises.
The exercise was able to deliver adversary threats and tactical maneuver training opportunities not normally available during live exercises. Northrop Grumman executed the all-virtual event on the U.S. Air Force Distributed Training Center Network (DTCN).
“We have developed and executed thousands of training events with realistic, high-fidelity scenarios for the Air Force,” said Terri Malone, vice president, mission readiness and protective systems, Northrop Grumman. “Live military training exercises require a complex and expensive logistical effort, while simulation is safer and more cost-effective and allows for maximum participation – even from locations around the world.”
“Coalition Virtual Guardian is particularly noteworthy because it marks the beginning of on-demand air mobility exercises and training with coalition partners,” said Wing Commander Michael Tully of the Royal Australian Air Force.
A virtual air mobility training exercise of this size and scope was never before available to coalition aircrews, and CVG 21 established a benchmark for synthetic events and coalition exercises. Earlier in the year, Northrop Grumman delivered a blend of Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) capabilities during Northern Edge 21, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command-sponsored joint training exercise at the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and the Gulf of Alaska. The biannual exercise is focused on joint task force tactical- and operational-level requirements and transformation initiatives, which this year included joint all-domain command and control (JADC2).
During CVG 21 events, participants “flew” a number of virtual weapon systems, including C-17 and C-130 aircraft, from simulators at their home bases. The disparate crews were able to interact on the DTCN in an immersive constructive environment consisting of a variety of fighters, bombers, airborne command, control and communications platforms, intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance aircraft, air-refueling tankers, and ground personnel such as airfield tower controllers and drop zone control officers.
Air crews faced many constructive threats created by Northrop Grumman, including surface-to-air missiles, fighter and rotary-wing aircraft, electronic warfare, ground forces with small arms and air defense artillery, and enemy naval forces. Northrop Grumman, in concert with coalition planning staffs, developed the entire CVG training scenario, including threat plots, flight and communications plans, navigation charts and more to meet learning objectives designated by AMC and coalition partners.
21 Sep 21. Dstl trials innovative solutions to ‘wet gap’ military challenge. Industry works with defence to create amphibious vehicles, robots and drones in Map the Gap competition. Amphibious vehicles, bottom-crawling robots and drones with autonomous control.
It is hard to believe that these diverse and incredible feats of innovation are all potential solutions to the same military challenge.
The Map the Gap competition, run by Dstl on behalf of DASA, aims to find new ways to help UK Armed Forces cross a body of water, or ‘wet gap’, safely and covertly while increasing the tempo of operations.
Dstl Senior Principal Analyst Nicole Beaves said, “The scientific and technological knowledge we provide gives commanders more options and our military a critical advantage. This competition has brought together some of the top minds in industry and led to a diverse range of cutting-edge solutions.
These impressive prototypes show incredible creativity and innovation combined with top-level technical expertise.”
Five suppliers received a total of £1.2m in funding to complete phase 1 of the Map the Gap competition.
A bottom crawler by Wight Ocean was developed, and Digital Concepts Engineering demonstrated their teamed bottom crawler and drone.
Nordic Unmanned AS and Scytronix used advanced drone technology and Foundry Cube in collaboration with Ultrabeam Hydrographic made an amphibious vehicle.
The competition started in February 2020 and trials took place earlier this year. Phase 2 offered £2 m to fund multiple projects.
The prototypes are expected to retrieve vital information such as the depth and flow of the water, the distance between both banks and their respective heights, and the ground-bearing capacity of the nearby land.
Robert Hammond-Smith, DASA Delivery Manager said, “The international reputation of Dstl helped attract proposals from as far away as America and Norway, as well as the UK. We had about 20 proposals and we took forward five of these with different approaches to the problem and different expertise. Our competitions attract the top minds in industry, academia and the military. Often we are key in turning an SME concept into a reality. Potential suppliers and partners can find out about competitions being run by DASA on behalf of Dstl and other ways to work with us, as well as our current priorities for funding and research.” (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
20 Sep 21. India and Nepal begin Surya Kiran joint military exercise. The exercise will see participation of Infantry Battalion from the Indian Army and an equivalent Nepalese counterpart. The exercise will validate the performance of both the armies in counterinsurgency in mountainous terrain. The armies of India and Nepal have started the 15th edition of joint military exercise Surya Kiran at Pithoragarh in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The two-day joint military training exercise will validate the performance of both armies in counterinsurgency in mountainous regions. The Infantry Battalion of the Indian Army and an equivalent counterpart from the Nepali Army are participating in the drill. The forces will share their experiences drawn from several counter-insurgency operations during the exercise. In the exercise, both armies will familiarise themselves with each other’s weapons, equipment, tactics, techniques and operating procedures in a counter-insurgency environment. Exercise Surya Kiran aims to build interoperability and sharing expertise between the two countries.
In a statement, the Indian Ministry of Defence said: “This joint military training will go a long way in improving bilateral relations and also will be a major step towards further strengthening the traditional friendship between the two nations.”
Furthermore, a set of expert academic discussions on different subjects such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), high-altitude warfare (HAW) and jungle warfare will be conducted.
Each year, the Surya Kiran series of exercises is conducted in either Nepal or India.
In 2019, the last edition of the Surya Kiran exercise was concluded in Nepal.
In November 2016, India and Nepal completed the tenth edition of the Surya Kiran-X exercise, at the Army Battle School in Saljhandi, Nepal. (Source: army-technology.com)
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InVeris Training Solutions combines an agile approach with an unmatched expertise in training technology to design and deliver customized, cutting-edge, first-rate training solutions that keep military, law enforcement, private and commercial range clients safe, prepared and ready to serve – Because Seconds Matter™. With a portfolio of technology-enabled training solutions, and a team of 400 employees driven to innovate, InVeris Training Solutions is the global leader in integrated live-fire and virtual weapons training solutions. With its legacy companies, FATS® and Caswell, InVeris Training Solutions has fielded over 15,000 live-fire ranges and 7,500 virtual systems globally during its 90-year history. The Company is headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia and partners with clients in the US and around the world from facilities on five continents.
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