Joint Warrior focuses on high-end warfighting

The continued emphasis on coalition exercises is currently being exemplified in the UK through exercise Joint Warrior, with more than 11,600 military personnel from 17 nations taking part in the exercise which culminates in early May.

Joint Warrior is one of the largest exercises of its kind in Europe and operates out of Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde, Scotland.

‘Joint Warrior prepares our troops in the best way to meet the intensifying threats our country faces by providing a major opportunity to exercise with our allies,’ said Gavin Williamson, UK Defence Secretary, on 20 April.

‘Our armed forces are the face of global Britain, and training side-by-side with troops from 16 other nations means we are stronger and more capable when it comes to keeping our countries safe and protecting our way of life.’

The biannual exercise is running from 21 April to 4 May, and incorporates all three UK services as well as forces from 16 other nations including Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the US.

This year however the exercise will only take place once due to ongoing military commitments.

Linked to the NATO exercise programme and open to Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Partner Nations, Joint Warrior also hosts non-NATO partners such as Australia, Finland and Sweden. This year the training scenarios involve multiple sovereign nations disputing resources and territories; counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling activity; information warfare; and evacuation operations.

The UK MoD said that the exercise 'will provide NATO allies and partner nations the opportunity to train together across air, land, sea and cyber domains, practising “high-end” war-fighting between near-peer adversaries’.

‘This exercise gives the UK participants a chance to train with our allies and partners, honing our skills and developing our tactics,’ explained Captain Joint Tactical Exercise Planning Staff, Capt Paul Pitcher RN. ‘It is hugely important in making sure that we can fuse all elements of our capabilities, enhancing our ability to conduct joint operations now and in the future.’

Joint Venture will conclude on Salisbury Plain Training Area on 3 May in which JEF forces, including troops from the UK Parachute Regiment, the Danish Jutland Dragoon Regiment, the Lithuanian Iron Wolf Brigade and the Latvian Mechanised Infantry Brigade, will conduct urban combat operations at Copeland Down with air support provided by UK Apaches, Chinooks (pictured), Wildcats and Tornados.