More 36 thousand. a soldier takes part in the largest NATO maneuvers in Sicily since “cold war”. purpose “Trident Juncture 15” checking the readiness of the North Atlantic Alliance for new threats.
– We are very concerned about the increase in Russian military capabilities, – emphasized NATO Deputy Secretary General Vershbow.
During the opening ceremony at the Italian airbase Vershbow said, what maneuvers, which will take place in Italy, Spain and Portugal, must show the readiness of the Alliance for the usual military problems, and less traditional, like hybrid wars, or propaganda. he stressed, that the last NATO exercises of this magnitude took place during “cold war”, the geopolitical situation has become much more unstable, which is confirmed by the Russian annexation of Crimea, Moscow's support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, or the spread of extremist groups in Libya and Syria.
According to the deputy head of NATO, the growing concentration of Russian troops in Kaliningrad, on the Black Sea and in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, pose an additional threat.
– We are very concerned about the increase in Russian military capabilities, – Vershbow said.
In turn, Supreme Commander of NATO Forces in Europe, American General Philip Breedlove stressed, that the Alliance wants to send a clear message to any potential aggressor.
– Any attempt to violate the sovereignty of one of the NATO states will evoke a response from the military power of all the countries of the Alliance, – said Breedlove.
“Trident Juncture” – This is the annual exercise of the NATO Response Force ” (“NATO Response Force, NRF). In their course, every year the divisions, assigned to watch for the following 12 months are undergoing certification. In the teachings, which will last until mid-November, more than 36 thousand. soldier, about 230 units of military equipment, more 60 ships and 140 aircraft.
NRFs were established in 2003 year as a rapid reaction force, including land, air and sea special forces. The NRF was tasked with conducting collective defense (before, how NATO mobilizes the rest of the troops), as well as crisis management and peacekeeping operations, disaster relief and infrastructure protection.
Threats on its eastern and southern flanks of NATO at the Newport summit, in September 2014 decided to reform the NRF. In the end, they must have four elements: command, related high-readiness target forces (VJTF), forces for use in the further sequence (Initial Follow-On Forces Group, IFFG) and additional forces, ready to use, if VJTF and IFFG could not cope with the task.
