Approximately 15,000 Romanian and allied troops will participate, in the first half of the year, in the multinational training events planned to take place in training grounds and military facilities in Romania, as part of the Dacia 25 and Dacian Spring 25 exercises, the Ministry of Defense (MapN) informed on Wednesday.
The Dacian Spring 25 (DASP 25) exercise planned and led by the South-East Multinational Division, between May 5 and 26, represents a first through the deployment by France - the framework nation of the NATO Battle Group in Cincu - on Romanian territory, of to a multinational brigade-level structure of approximately 4,000 French troops with combat equipment.
The Dacia 25 exercise represents the major training event at the operational and tactical level, which ensures the necessary framework for the integration of national and allied forces by connecting with other multinational exercises planned by the Supreme Allied Command Europe and by the Command of the US Armed Forces in Europe.
The exercises connected within Dacia 25 are: Steadfast Dart 25 - planned by SHAPE, which will take place in February, Sea Shield 25 - planned and led by the Naval Staff and Valiant Strike 25 - planned and led by the Command of the Forces for Special Operations, both taking place in April - May and Saber Guardian 25 - planned by USEUCOM, in collaboration with the Defense General Staff, in June.
The first major training exercise in this series, Steadfast Dart 25 (STDT 25), planned by SHAPE and led by the Joint Allied Command Naples - JFCNP, will begin on February 10, and the operational phases will run until February 21. The STDT 25 scenario will focus on the execution of specific peacetime alerting, deployment and force integration activities, with the aim of testing the reaction and response capacity in crisis situations.
According to MApN, the exercise will demonstrate NATO's ability to activate the Allied Reaction Force and coordinate its rapid transition to the location where it can provide strategic deterrent effects by strengthening the forces already deployed. It is the first time that the Allied Reaction Force will exercise an operational deployment since its establishment on July 1, 2024.
"The Romanian Army, together with allied and partner forces, is carrying out this series of integrated military exercises, aimed at strengthening cooperation within NATO and the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership. These drills demonstrate the unity and solidarity of the allies, as well as the capacity of the NATO and partner structures American strategy to intervene quickly in support of Romania. The main purpose of the exercises is to increase the defense and deterrence capacity, improving coordination and reaction times, as well as strengthening interoperability and military mobility. In a complex global context, marked by security crises, these drills become essential for the preparation of the armed forces", MApN emphasized.
The exercises represent an opportunity to test the ability to sustain defensive operations within the alliance and to provide the necessary support for troops and equipment transiting or stationed on the national territory. These military activities are a clear example of the common commitment to the collective security and stability of the region, the Ministry of Defense also informed.
The planned training activities will include tactical movements and exercises with and without combat firing, parachuting, forcing of water courses, encrypted communications, coordination of transit through air, naval and land border crossing points, as well as specific medical activities.
The training sequences will take place in seven shooting grounds in the northwest, center, south and southeast of the country.