Army

UK to Join Major Military Exercise in Poland

The UK will send a full battle group comprising 1,350 personnel and more than 350 armoured and other vehicles to a major military exercise in Poland as part of a NATO package to reassure Eastern European allies, the Defence Secretary has announced today.

During a joint visit to Warsaw with Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Michael Fallon announced the UK will take part in Exercise Black Eagle in October. This new commitment is Britain’s largest to the region since 2008 and is one of a planned series of NATO manoeuvres due to take place throughout the Autumn in support of allies in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.

As part of a sustained commitment since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, the UK has deployed RAF Typhoon jets to the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission, as well as participating in smaller scale army exercises across Europe. At the end of August light infantry troops from 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment will take part in Exercise Sabre Junction, a US-led exercise involving 16 NATO and partner nations which is also taking place in Poland.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:

“It is right that NATO members and partners demonstrate our commitment to the collective security of our allies in Eastern Europe, so I am pleased to confirm our participation in these exercises. In particular, the commitment of a battle group to Exercise Black Eagle shows our sustained and substantial support to NATO’s eastern border.”

The NATO Summit in Wales on 4-5 September will be a key platform for member nations to discuss how to equip the alliance to respond to future threats and agree more reassurance measures. It will be one of the most important in NATO’s history, coming at a key moment for the Alliance as the combat mission in Afghanistan draws to a close and, as events in Ukraine and Iraq have shown, the world faces more complex threats than ever before.

Mr Fallon added:

“We have a strong opportunity at the NATO summit to discuss how we will continue our response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and its destabilisation of eastern Ukraine. The UK is playing a central role and we are not ruling out further enhancements.”