Greek Leopard-2HEL tanks, according to press information, are participating in a NATO exercise at the Novo Selo firing range in Bulgaria.
It is a Greek force that comes from the 22nd Armored Brigade in Xanthi, and consists of a group of four tanks of this type, which participates in the NATO Defender-23 exercise, with the participation of Americans, Italians, Bulgarians and other countries of the alliance.
The same information states that Greek AH-64A+ Apache attack helicopters of the 1st Attack Helicopter Battalion participated in the same exercise.
Yesterday was the final phase of the NATO exercise on Bulgarian soil at the Bulgarian shooting range, in the presence of the Bulgarian President R. Radev and the Bulgarian A/GED Admiral Euthymov.
The aim is to improve interoperability, to offer a training opportunity in the European airspace.
Also through the exercise the alliance wants to demonstrate the flexibility and determination of NATO, to strengthen the overall deterrence posture in the air sector in accordance with the NATO Concept for Deterrence and Defense of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA).
NATO's intention to accept Ukraine into the alliance with the Fast Track process, according to General Stoltenberg, we might say it is the turning point, for rapid military developments in Ukraine, with scenarios that we cannot even mention for Europe.
The final phase of the "Defender-23" live-fire exercise was carried out at the Novo Selo firing range, the press center of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense informs.
The exercise was attended by the Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, the Deputy Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov and the Naval Air Force Admiral Emil Eftimov.
"Defender Shield-23" is part of the large-scale multinational exercise Defender Europe 23.
During the exercise, more than 400 Bulgarian military personnel participated, a multinational battle group was deployed which included a Greek tank platoon, a mechanized battalion, a self-propelled artillery platoon and ARVHP units of the Bulgarian army, formations from the US ground forces, an Italian formation from NATO's Multinational Battle Group in Bulgaria, as well as aircraft from the Bulgarian Air Force.
The main objective of the NATO exercise on Bulgarian soil is to increase the preparation of the participants in a multinational environment for conducting defense operations.
Another part of NATO's combat readiness is "Air Defender 2023", which is NATO's largest air military exercise.
22 countries will take part in it with more than 200 aircraft of 23 different types. About 100 aircraft will come from the US, with about 10,000 troops expected to participate.
According to the alliance's website, the exercise will be an overall "umbrella" to coordinate and align the German Multinational Air Force (MAGEKS) with possible contributions from the US and other NATO efforts.
The exercises will take place in Germany and the participating countries are Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia, Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary , USA and Great Britain.
