site.btaBulgaria to Host, Share in Series of Multinational Military Exercises in 2021

Sofia, March 15 (BTA) - Bulgaria will host and share in a series
 of multinational military exercises in 2021 so as to enhance
its armed forces' operational capabilities, the Bulgarian
Defence Ministry said in a press release on Monday.

Between March and mid-June, over 30,000 troops of 26 NATO Member
 States will hone interoperability in simultaneous defence
operations at 30 training areas in 14 countries during a series
of interconnected exercises codenamed DEFENDER-Europe 21, which
will be led by the U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

DEFENDER-Europe 21 is associated with a key training event:
NATO's Steadfast Defender 21 (mid-May through early-June), led
by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), in
which Bulgaria will mainly contribute logistical support as a
host country for forces transit.

DEFENDER-Europe 21 will encompass several linked exercises,
including Swift Response, Saber Guardian, Immediate Response,
and Defender Europe.

From mid-May to mid-June, Bulgaria, alongside Germany, Romania,
Hungary, the Republic of North Macedonia and Albania, will host
Exercise Saber Guardian, in which more than 13,000 service
members from 16 countries will conduct live fire and air and
missile defence operations, plus a large scale medical
evacuation. In Bulgaria, Saber Guardian will encompass three
national exercises with international participation: Strike Back
 21, Balkan Sentinel 21 and Shabla 21, and a special operations
exercise called Trojan Footprint - South. Bulgarian military
elements will participate in Exercise Decisive Strike in the
Republic of North Macedonia, which, too, is part of Saber
Guardian.

Swift Response (early to mid-May) will include airborne
operations in Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania involving more than
7,000 troops from 11 countries.

In Exercise Immediate Response (mid-May through early-June),
more than 5,000 troops from 11 countries will spread out across
31 training areas in 13 different countries to conduct live fire
 training.

In June, approximately 1,500 personnel will stage Defender
Europe, a command post exercise seeking to drill the
headquarters' ability to command multinational land forces in a
joint and combined training environment while maintaining
real-world operations across 104 countries, including Bulgaria,
on two continents. NV/LG