Lithuanian troops join Europe’s largest CBRN exercise

Lithuanian soldiers took part in the Coronat Mask international exercise in Romania, which LRT reported is Europe’s largest training event for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear safety specialists.

The exercise ran from September 7 to 18 and brought together about 800 troops from 11 countries, according to the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

The drills were notable for their high level of realism, with real combat chemical substances used during operations. Such substances can cause mass casualties, damage the environment, equipment and vehicles, and potentially determine the course of a battle, the military said.

Specialists from different countries trained in international units to identify contamination, safely collect samples and quickly deliver them to laboratories deployed at the exercise site. The military said speed is especially important in CBRN protection because the faster a threat is identified, the more its damage can be reduced.

“It was difficult to work in fairly mountainous terrain with limited transport options because the road network was underdeveloped. This created a number of challenges when setting up decontamination points,” said Antanas Nacys, commander of the CBRN decontamination squad. He added that temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and limited surface water supplies, including dried-up rivers, created additional difficulties for logistics.

Lithuanian troops worked alongside Czech and Spanish personnel under two main scenarios. Reconnaissance teams on foot and in vehicles surveyed the terrain for chemical, radiological and biological contamination and collected samples. The decontamination unit treated contaminated reconnaissance personnel, equipment and vehicles.

The exercise aims to improve CBRN defence capabilities, strengthen international cooperation in responding to threats involving weapons of mass destruction, and exchange experience and tactical solutions.

Coronat Mask is held every two years. The 2024 exercise took place in the Czech Republic, after which participants decided that it should be hosted by a different European country each time. This year, Romania hosted the exercise because of its strategic position on NATO’s flank and its CBRN capabilities, the Lithuanian Armed Forces said.