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.
American servicemembers have arrived in Georgia to team up with their counterparts from Georgia, France, United Kingdom and Poland to participate in the Noble Partner 2020 defence exercises next month.
Georgian Defence Forces will team up with their counterparts from the United States, France, United Kingdom and Poland to hold the latest edition of the Noble Partner defence drills next month.
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.
This year’s Agile Spirit multinational defence exercise in Georgia will include sea component for the first time, with the drills set to involve troops from the host country and its international partners.
Heavy military hardware of the United States armed forces is on its way from Georgia's Black Sea coast to the Vaziani military polygon outside Tbilisi, ahead of the opening of the Noble Partner multinational drills on Monday.
The Noble Partner 2020 multinational military exercise will kick in Georgia off tomorrow. Over 2,700 servicemen from the Georgian Defence Forces will team up with their counterparts from the United States, France, United Kingdom and Poland and gather at the Vaziani Military Airfield.
The Noble Partner 2020 exercises demonstrate how allied forces continue to work and train together even during the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic, says the US Embassy.
Special forces units from Georgian Defence Forces are involved in drills alongside counterparts from NATO member and partner states in the alliance's annual Trojan Footprint exercise involving air, sea and land assets in five host countries.