Swift Response: UK troops join 9,500-strong Nato deployment in major exercise across Europe

British soldiers have deployed alongside Nato allies in a large-scale Arctic exercise aimed at testing the alliance's ability to respond rapidly to threats in Europe's northern flank.

Exercise Swift Response 25 involves 9,500 troops and 2,600 vehicles from Estonia, Poland, the UK and the United States.

It forms part of Defender 25, a wider US-led series of exercises running from 11 May to 24 June, involving forces from 29 allied and partner nations.

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A key moment in the exercise came on 13 May, when paratroopers from the US, Hungary and Norway carried out a Joint Forcible Entry (JFE) in Bardufoss, Norway.

The simulated airborne assault was designed to demonstrate how Nato forces can rapidly seize contested ground together.

Led by the 82nd Airborne Division, the operation included troops from the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

The aim was for them to work with their European counterparts to strengthen joint readiness. 

Supporting the airborne assault were US Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 22, working in Setermoen, Norway, to provide critical combat service support.

Marines carried out combat marksmanship drills at the K2 Range, and live demolition training, with explosive ordnance disposal and ammunition technicians rehearsing battlefield support under Arctic conditions.

Their role is to enable multi-domain operations by ensuring frontline forces remain supplied, mobile and protected – even in the most demanding environments of the High North and the Baltics.

Among the US soldiers deployed is Sgt Alejandro Rivas, a combat medic with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Speaking as part of the I'm a Defender campaign, he described the contrast between life at home and operations in Norway.

"Some of the things I learned about working in a different country is getting used to the weather, primarily.

"For example, in North Carolina, in Fort Bragg, we are used to sunshine and rainbows, and over here we have a blizzard.

"In Fort Bragg, we got an inch of snow once and everything shut down, here we have 10 feet of snow and it is business as usual."

Swift Response is one of three major exercises under the Defender 25 umbrella, alongside Immediate Response and Saber Guardian.

Together, they are designed to strengthen Nato's ability to deploy in large-scale combat operations. 

The training includes everything from airborne insertions to long-range fires, logistics and joint command and control.

It's a show of not just military might, but of the alliance's ability to operate as one force across borders, climates and crises.