US paratroopers deploy outside Tbilisi ahead of Noble Partner drills launch
US paratroopers deployed from four C-130 aircraft in a demonstration ahead of the launch of Noble Partner drills. Photo via Minister of Defence of Georgia social media page.
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Airborne troops of units of the United States European Command landed in a demonstration drills at the Vaziani Military Airfield outside Tbilisi on Tuesday to preview the Noble Partner multinational exercise opening in Georgia next week.
Set before the official opening of the exercise involving servicemembers from the Georgian Defence Forces, France, Poland, United Kingdom and US, the show deployment involved US Air Force transport aircraft and was observed by Georgian and American dignitaries.
Involving two company-size units from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, 91st Cavalry Regiment and a USAF squadron, the drop deployed 200 paratroopers to the airfield in a simulated scenario.
Descending after their drops from the C-130 Hercules aircraft, the airborne troops were exercising an airfield capture and hold operation in support of a subsequent multinational force. The large transport aircraft were used for the operation after crossing Black Sea from Romania.
#HappeningNow: 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ ???????? @173rdAbnBde #Paratroopers drop into the Vaziani Training Area, ????????, as part of #NoblePartner 20!#StrongEurope #SkySoldiers #ArmyTeam @USArmy @US_EUCOM @7thATC @usingeo @ModGovGe pic.twitter.com/WEQMs0cTk8
— US Army Europe (@USArmyEurope) September 1, 2020
The pre-Noble Partner show drill saw positive assessment from American commanders, with Lieutenant General Roger L. Cloutier, Commander for the NATO Allied Land Command, telling local media it was a "great day and a great training event" that served to develop "interoperability and capability-building with our Georgian partners, US forces and NATO forces".
Irakli Garibashvili, Minister of Defence of Georgia, praised the display as a manifestation of "the unique trust, which bonds the Georgia-US strategic partnership".
Garibashvili also said the upcoming exercise was a "unique opportunity" for Georgian troops to improve their interoperability with NATO forces, and "another demonstration" of alliance member states' support for Georgia's aspirations to join the organisation.
The Noble Partner drills will involve over 2,700 troops at Vaziani Military Airfield and polygon outside Tbilisi, as well as Camp Norio in Georgia's east, between September 7-18.