Demonstration of NATO readiness on the eastern flank. With the participation of the Corps in Szczecin

On June 13, the largest exercise of the Multinational Corps Northeast this year – Griffin Lightning 25 – ended, confirming readiness to conduct large-scale defensive operations in the Baltic region. The maneuvers were two-phase and included both field operations and advanced command and staff simulations. It was the largest NATO military undertaking in Central and Eastern Europe before the upcoming summit of the Alliance in The Hague.

The first phase of the exercise, which lasted from 12 to 23 May, involved nearly 26,000 soldiers from NATO countries. The operations were conducted simultaneously on four training grounds: Hedgehog in Estonia, Thunder Fortress in Lithuania, Crystal Arrow in Latvia and Dzielny Dzik in Poland. Multinational divisions of the Corps and NATO battle groups were involved. It is worth noting that this was also the largest operation in decades to deploy German military aviation outside the country's borders - over 30 helicopters and 800 soldiers were stationed in Lithuania.

The second phase – a command and staff exercise – lasted from 28 May to 13 June and took place mainly in Szczecin. It was attended by almost 1,200 soldiers, of whom over 800 came from allied countries, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, France and Great Britain. The main goal was to improve command systems and response to a simulated armed conflict.

The key element of this stage was a 24/7 dynamic computer simulation, mapping the possible course of defensive operations on NATO's eastern flank. The team playing the role of the enemy introduced situational changes in real time, forcing commanders to make decisions under time pressure, regardless of the time of day or night. The exercises were conducted simultaneously in Szczecin and in units subordinated to the Corps in Poland and the Baltic countries.

The Griffin Lightning 25 exercise constituted a significant test of the capacity of international cooperation within NATO and confirmed the high level of operational readiness of Allied forces in the region.

(dg)