This year's largest NATO Dragon-24 exercise starts in Poland

Polish Dragon-24 exercises are part of NATO's Steadfast Defender-24 military maneuvers, which are the largest NATO exercises since the end of the Cold War, Ukrinform reports citing PAP.

As emphasized, Steadfast Defender-24, which runs from January 22 to the end of May, takes place from the Atlantic to NATO's eastern flank, including Poland. The scenario of the exercise involves a conflict with a "similarly sized adversary."

The Steadfast Defender-24 exercise involves 90,000 people, including military personnel from all NATO countries and Sweden, as well as approximately 50 warships, 80 aircraft, and 1,100 combat vehicles. According to the Polish Armed Forces General Command, these military maneuvers are "the largest demonstration of the defense capabilities of the Alliance and its member states." At the same time, it adds that all the exercises "are of a defensive nature and are not directed against any country."

Meanwhile, in addition to Polish military units, soldiers from Spain, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Albania are also taking part in Dragon-24. In total, about 20 thousand people are taking part in the exercise: 15,000 soldiers of the Polish army and 5,000 soldiers from individual NATO countries, primarily the United States and the United Kingdom. The exercise will involve 3.500 pieces of military equipment.

"The troops will be tested for interaction and combat missions on the ground, in the air and at sea. In addition to military operations in the above areas, military operations will also be conducted in cyberspace," the Main Command of the Polish Armed Forces said.

As noted, Dragon-24 exercises will test the ability of the Polish Armed Forces to respond to a potential multidimensional armed crisis, thereby contributing to strengthening the Alliance's deterrence and defense capabilities.

As reported by Ukrinform, on January 24, NATO's largest military exercise in decades, Steadfast Defender 24, began, involving about 90,000 people.

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