Military vehicles parachute from planes as Noble Partner drills launch in Georgia

The largest-ever joint military drills between Georgia and NATO have officially launched on Georgian soil.

The Noble Partner exercises opened at the Vaziani military air base just outside capital Tbilisi today with a novel display involving military vehicles parachuting out of planes.

The two-week drills will feature 500 Georgian, 650 United States (US) and 150 British service members, as well as US military vehicles that have never been used in any kind of Georgia-based activities before.

The military drills were regarded as one of the most important occasions in Georgia-NATO relations and today’s opening was attended by Georgia’s top defence and political leaders as well as US and UK diplomats and military officials.

Joint military exercises w/ @USArmyEurope and #UK example of strong partnership #NoblePartner#Georgiahttps://t.co/b5tGHCuOzP

— Giorgi Kvirikashvili (@KvirikashviliGi) May 11, 2016

Speaking at the opening, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili stressed why he believed the drills were extremely significant.

"The Georgian-US-UK military exercises have the greatest importance. First of all, for increasing the defensive capability of the Georgian Armed Forces,” he said.

"It also has an important political meaning, which is the following: Georgia’s defence and security and the peaceful life of Georgian citizens are based on one and only fundament point and this point is our partnership with the West, with our strategic partners. And there is not alternative to this.”

Photo by the PM's press office

Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli stressed these drills were the best way to say "on this soil, there will never be a government that tolerates occupation”.

She added Georgia strived to become a NATO member and this generation of servicemen who participated in the joint drills would help ensure Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic path never changed.

President Giorgi Margvelashvili also addressed the crowd today and stressed the importance of Georgia’s partnership with the West. He was confident Georgia would one day join the military alliance.

Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli and President Giorgi Margvelashvili at the Noble Partner opening ceremony. Photo by PM's press office 

The Noble Partner drills are a bilateral effort aimed at enhancing US and Georgian NATO Response Force interoperability in the context of military-to-military relationships. The exercise will focus on Unified Land Operations and will be based on NATO standard operating procedures.

Once the two-week exercises end, Georgia will have NATO-certified servicemen for the first time in the country’s history.

Photo by PM's press office 

Today’s drills began with the Georgian, US and UK national anthems and it was mentioned that Georgia was "the most important NATO partner in the region”.

The opening of the drills saw artillery guns parachute out of planes. Georgia’s military bands played as the three countries celebrated the launch of the Nobel Partner exercises.

This year’s drills are larger than last year’s, with three times more American soldiers, Abrams tanks, and the addition of UK servicemen.

US Charge d’Affaires Nicholas Berliner noted the Noble Partner’s importance in building interoperability among NATO allies and partners and of Georgia's continuing contributions to international security missions around the world. He ended by saying Georgia truly was a "noble partner".