International Strong Griffin exercises involve 2,500 troops

More than 2,500 Lithuanian and allied troops took part in the Strong Griffin international field tactical exercises held in Lithuania for more than two weeks, LRT reports, citing the Lithuanian Armed Forces. More than 500 pieces of military equipment were also involved.

The exercises brought together troops from Lithuania, the United States, Poland, the Netherlands, France, Ukraine, Moldova and Portugal.

The training incorporated Ukraine’s wartime experience and the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ ANBO unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities. For the first time, mixed Lithuanian and French crews operated together on a Caesar system.

Particular attention was given to using ANBO unmanned aircraft for reconnaissance, detecting targets, assessing the situation and directing fire. Troops also trained to detect and neutralise threats posed by enemy drones.

“In these exercises, we are training to integrate separate capabilities into a single combat system. We are integrating aerial and ground drones, counter-drone systems and tactics,” Viktoras Bagdonas, commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ Žemaitija Infantry Brigade, said in a statement.

“On the modern battlefield, it is not enough to detect a target in time or have firepower. What matters is how quickly information becomes a decision, and a decision becomes a specific effect on the enemy. We are training the entire chain of action, from reconnaissance and the transmission of information to decision-making and the synchronisation of fire and manoeuvre,” he said.

The exercises also involved representatives of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, civilian institutions and medical personnel. In one scenario, the delivery and admission of injured people were practised at Santaros Clinics, a medical institution.

Live fire exercises known as CALFEX were held at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground. Soldiers from Brigadier General Motiejus Pečiulionis Artillery Battalion and French troops fired 155 mm Caesar self-propelled howitzers.

Troops from both countries worked together in a single crew, coordinating procedures, preparing the systems to fire and carrying out fire support tasks.