Georgian troops join allied counterparts in 9,000-strong exercise in Estonia
The Spring Storm drills have involved Georgian troops since 2017. Photo: Ministry of Defence of Georgia press office.
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Georgian service members are among over 9,000 troops from over a dozen states involved in the Spring Storm defence drills organised by the Ministry of Defence of Estonia that launched on Monday.
Hosted and run by the Estonian Defence Forces, the exercise also involves units of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence, armoured hardware and air element between April 29-May 17.
Georgian personnel is joining counterparts from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Poland and Ukraine in the drills.
#Estonia ’s largest annual military exercise #SpringStorm , in which 9000 soldiers from 13 countries – ???????? , ???????? , ???????? , ????????, ???????? , ???????? , ???????? , ???????? , ???????? , ???????? , ???????? , ???????? and ???????? – take part, has begun! #Kevadtorm #WeAreAllies #WeAreNATO #AlliedStrong @Kaitsevagi pic.twitter.com/JdCLpcSfmQ
— MoD Estonia (@MoD_Estonia) April 30, 2019
The annual edition of Spring Storm, held in the country's north-east, utilise Estonian airspace to allow air forces of the host country as well as Germany, the UK, US and Poland to conduct manoeuvres.
Armoured units, including tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, are also used in the drills.
Georgian service members have been involved in the exercise since 2017, when just three officers of the General Staff of the Georgian Defence Forces were involved in staff activities within Spring Storm.
The NATO-Georgia Exercise 2019 has started today at the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC), National Training Center Krtsanisi, near Tbilisi, Georgia. The exercise is comprised of 21 allied nations and three NATO partner nations, including Georgia as the host nation.
Georgia will host the largest yet edition of the Agile Spirit multinational defence drills with over 3,000 service members from NATO member states and partner countries this summer.
For the first time Georgia will take full responsibility for the planning and the execution of the NATO-Georgia joint military exercise which will be held in March near Tbilisi with the participation of 22 NATO member states and allies, Georgian Defence Minister Levan Izoria told journalists today.
The Didgori 2018 Command and Staff Exercise, supported by the NATO-Georgian Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC), launched today. The exercise aims to improve military coordination and organisation skills during critical situations, and will last for five days.
The Agile Spirit 2018 opening ceremony has been held in Senaki, Western Georgia today. The security exercises will last until September 11.
Georgia's Ministry of Defence and armed forces are hosting their partners, including NATO member states, in LOGDEV 19, a multinational exercise aimed at developing logistical capability of their armed forces. Held in the country for the first time, the drills - formally known as Logistics Development - involve 130 service members from a dozen countries and are led by the Joint Force Development Directorate of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Georgia will host the Agile Spirit 2019 multinational exercise this week, involving more than 3,000 soldiers from 14 NATO members and allies, Georgian Defence Ministry reports. The exercise will officially begin at the 2nd Infantry Brigade of Senaki, in western Georgia, on July 27.