UK troops join US exercise in Denmark testing artillery systems sent to Ukraine

Some of the artillery systems being sent to Ukraine have been on show in Denmark as part of a huge US exercise.

Dozens of nations have taken part in Dynamic Front 23, examining how they would launch a barrage of firepower against an enemy nation.

It is one of the largest and most complex live-fire exercises ever held in the country and the exercise took place in the vast Oksbøl training area on Denmark's West coast.

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Artillery and mortars were present from France, Poland, the US and Denmark, along with naval gunfire from the Portuguese, plus Danish and American fast jets. 

Ukrainian forces are using many of the systems for real, around 1,500 miles to the east of the training area.

Brigadier Matthew Birch, Chief Joint Fires and Influence Branch, Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), told Forces News: "It is multinational with the different assets, from the artillery and the mortars coming from different countries coming together, the planes are being flown by different countries.

"We've had two different warships off the coast today, fully integrated in what we're doing, trying to mesh that together."

He added: "The live firing really demonstrates that we have got that synchronisation correct and that we can employ this at a time and space of our choosing."

US HIMARS rocket artillery was present – the system Ukraine has used to wreak havoc on Russia's supply lines – and the US Army's 2nd Cavalry Regiment with its British-designed M-777 howitzer was also on the range.

America has sent 126 of them to Kyiv, along with 200,000 rounds of ammunition. 

While the British Army did not have any guns on the exercise, it did have gunners. 

4th Regiment Royal Artillery will form part of Nato's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force next year.

They were on the training area practising using a system called ASCA – which allows artillery units from different Nato countries to communicate on the battlefield. 

The exercise was organised by the US Army and the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, while a multinational field artillery brigade controlled the guns from next door.

Dynamic Front 23 was an opportunity for these Nato nations to practise large-scale artillery operations and demonstrate the systems that are so vital to Ukraine's survival.