The Italian staff of the Baltic Task Group in Latvia protagonist in the international competition Iron Spear 22-02 of the NATO countries present in the Baltic Republics
On November 17, after a week of intense training activity, the NATO exercise called “Iron Spear 22-02”, carried out at the training area of the Camp Adazi polygon, ended.
This important multinational exercise was planned, organized and directed by the company of the Italian contingent and saw 34 tank crews from 12 Alliance countries, such as Italy, Canada, Spain, Poland, United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, Estonia and Latvia, from the contingents stationed in the Baltic States.
The purpose of the exercise was the consolidation of operational procedures between crews, to achieve a high level of integration and interoperability between the armored and armored units of the NATO Battle Groups.
The competition, divided into three days, was inaugurated on November 15 by a demonstration of the firepower, night and day, of all the participating vehicles and saw the performance of different tests to test the skills of the crews as units and individual components: overcoming obstacles, moving fire with evaluation of both precision and execution times of the maneuvers and vehicle recognition.
The exercise, won by the Spaniards on a “Leopard” tank and by the Estonians on the CV90 platform, was a great success both for how the individual tests were conceived, and for the clarity of the organization that allowed the carrying out of the articulated logistical and training activities.
The Italian maneuver component, consisting of units of the “Garibaldi” Bersaglieri Brigade, deployed six crews based on VCC Dardo, Ariete tank and Centauro armoured vehicle, which confirmed the very high preparation of the personnel during all the training phases. The enhanced Forward Presence mission is part of a series of measures – Air Policing, Hub for the South, Operation Sea Guardian, etc. – aimed at ensuring a greater presence and attention of the Alliance towards those Member States that perceive a deterioration in their security and exercises such as IRON SPEAR contribute to the enhancement of the spirit of cohesion and solidarity among NATO countries, reinforcing the principle of collective defence and deterrence against any potential invasion.
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