First joint US, Georgian airborne drops "of scale not seen before" take place at Agile Spirit drills
Both personnel and hardware used by US and Georgian forces were dropped in the airborne showcase on Sunday. Photo via US Army Europe and Africa.
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Georgian and American airborne troops deployed in "scale not seen before" at the ongoing Agile Spirit multinational drills in Georgia on Sunday, with defence minister Juansher Burchuladze praising the first-ever occasion at the anniversary edition of the exercise.
The defence ministry reported on Sunday Georgian Defence Forces and US Army Europe and Africa servicemembers had deployed in the manoeuvre together for the first time in the history of multinational drills held in Georgia, with the showcase drop observed by defence officials, military commanders and US Ambassador Kelly Degnan.
The paratroopers and their hardware were dropped from seven C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the US forces' Ramstein Air Base in Germany, currently dispatched to the Alekseyevka Mixed Aviation Base on the outskirts of Tbilisi to support the manoeuvres.
#HappeningNow: Soldiers with the @173rdAbnBde are participating in exercise #AgileSpirit by air dropping into the Vaziani training area of Georgia. #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/PCQzzrW5xP
— U.S. Army Europe and Africa (@USArmyEURAF) August 1, 2021
Armoured vehicles were the first to be deployed from the large aircraft, before personnel from the two forces followed in the subsequent airframes, unfurling flags of Agile Spirit participant countries in descent, and exchanging unit badges with one another after landing, the MoD said.
It is important to note that this year's exercise is distinguished by the fact that we have never had either airborne deployment or special forces' [drills] of this scale before
- Juansher Burchuladze, Minister of Defence of Georgia
The manoeuvres on Sunday saw two American units and a GDF special operations company of Rangers hold a scenario of taking an airfield and preparing it in anticipation of friendly reinforcements.
[This event] demonstrates that our forces are ready, they're interoperable, and they have the mobility to respond when needed. This kind of exercise is very important to do regularly
- Kelly Degnan, United States Ambassador to Georgia
GDF and US commanders said the drops would not be the last of the exercise, with night-time airborne deployments set to follow on Tuesday, in a "confirmation" of increased capability and interoperability between the two sides.
The benefits of joint training exercises like #AgileSpirit are so vast we cannot sum everything up in one tweet, but one benefit for certain is pinning @USArmy airborne wings on Georgian Defense Force soldiers. #StrongerTogether@usingeo @US_EUCOM @ModGovGe pic.twitter.com/wdyEtqzTmK
— U.S. Army Europe and Africa (@USArmyEURAF) August 2, 2021
Launched a week ago, the anniversary 10th edition of Agile Spirit involves 15 NATO member and partner nations involved in staff and field manoeuvres at multiple locations in Georgia. Beside the first joint airborne drop of US and Georgian troops, the exercise features the novelty of the first use of Georgian-produced Didgori armoured vehicles.
Taking place in five bases, polygons and airfields across the country, the Agile Spirit exercise will look to develop "operational capability while planning and executing operations in multinational environments", a defence ministry release said.
Set to run through August 6, the event also involves troops from Azerbaijan, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine. Servicemembers from the latter arrived in Georgia on naval vessels after crossing the Black Sea.