16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team has successfully led Exercise Swift Response in Estonia.
During this exercise, more than 13,000 multinational paratroopers conducted six near-simultaneous Joint Forcible Entry-Airborne operations across Estonia, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.
Forcible entry operations involve rapidly deploying troops by air to seize and secure key objectives, often in hostile or contested areas, to establish a foothold for further military operations.
🪂🚁🛬🪖 We’re proud to have lead #SwiftResponse in Estonia🇪🇪, working with @Kaitsevagi, @82ndABNDiv🇺🇸 and @_6BPD_🇵🇱#SteadfastDefender24 #WeAreNATO https://t.co/gbtMlfpdiY
— 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team (@16AirAssltBCT) May 19, 2024
This large-scale exercise highlighted the readiness and interoperability of NATO forces, say the British Army.
16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team is the British Army’s Global Response Force, trained and equipped to deploy by parachute, helicopter, and airlanding.
Very good 16 Bde.
NB Bde HQ, the past tense of ‘lead’ is ‘led’.
Just saying…
So is this about 130 aircraft with 100 troops each doing 1 sortie each, or about 22 aircraft doing 6 sorties each?
And did all 13,000 troops do it 6 times or does the 6 only refer to the 6 drops?
And exactly how many UK aircraft and UK troops were involved, and same for other nations?
I thought we didn’t have enough airlift to drop 16 Bde into Normandy for June 6th. Whose planes did we borrow?
Ha. It’s one aircraft, doing one sortie, of one stick. Aircraft shortage and winds were too high I heard. The rest were HAF.
Surprised there hasn’t been a story about the lack of a400m for the d-day drop and media pressure resulting in 2 being freed up from other commitments.
When there isn’t enough to go around during peace times, it should be ranging alarm bells in the MOD/government.