Brave Griffin 24/11 includes participation of United States of America
The Portuguese Navy has announced in a statement that its marine force is in Lithuania, near the border with Poland, taking part in multinational exercise Brave Griffin 24/II, which includes participation of the United States of America.
The exercise, organised by Lithuania and Poland, is taking place “on the border between the two countries, specifically in the area known as the Suwalki corridor.
It will continue throughout the week, involving more than 1,500 military”, said the Navy in a press release.
“Brave Griffin 24/II” aims to “test defensive scenarios and tactics”.
The Portuguese Marine Force on mission in Lithuania consists of 146 soldiers and is commanded by Lieutenant Commander Nuno Correia Marques.
With around 200 military units involved near the border with Poland, these manoeuvres are aimed at “increasing readiness and coordination between the participating forces”, Polish television TVP World reported on its digital portal.
According to the same source, the presidents of Lithuania and Poland, Gitanas Nausėda and Andrzej Duda respectively, are expected to attend the exercises during the week.
“Brave Griffin 24/II” marks the start of NATO’s wider “Steadfast Defender” training cycle across Europe.
These exercises, which will bring together more than 90,000 military personnel from over 30 countries, represent one of the largest military initiatives since the end of the Cold War.
The main objective of NATO manoeuvres in Lithuania – scheduled to last until the end of June – is to evaluate and validate the defensive strategies formulated during the previous NATO summit in Vilnius, and “underline the unwavering commitment of NATO members to collective defence and security,” TVP World points out.
NATO’s “Steadfast Defender 2024” cycle of manoeuvres is “a direct response to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and the threats Moscow has been posing to NATO member states”, adds to the Polish TV station.
“By demonstrating the Alliance’s ability to mobilise and reinforce European defences rapidly, these exercises seek to maintain stability and deterrence in the region,” TVP World continuies, adding that these are exercises “carried out on NATO’s eastern flank”, which envisage “scenarios involving confrontations with adversaries of comparable strength”.
LUSA
