Thousands of British troops head to Romania for major Nato exercise
The operation, called Steadfast Dart, comes ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday.
Thousands of British troops are travelling across Europe as part of a major Nato training exercise ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Around 2,500 British personnel, along with hundreds of vehicles, are moving across the continent by land, air and sea to join allies in Romania.
The operation, called Steadfast Dart, aims to highlight Nato’s ability to mobilise at speed.
It comes ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday, with much of the exercise taking place in Romania, which sits on the Ukrainian border.
Steadfast Dart is the first major deployment of Nato’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF), which replaced the Nato Response Force last year, and is intended to test Nato’s ability to deploy under pressure.
Speaking to the PA news agency at a Hungarian military base in Szentes, Second Lieutenant Alex Coleman described the exercise as a “hefty undertaking”.
He said: “Steadfast Dart 25 is the Nato Allied Reaction Force’s first deployment exercise, it is definitely a significant undertaking, it is a very long road move across Europe.
“Steadfast Dart shows what the British Army and Nato are capable of – that we can move large convoys over long distances to enable activity wherever we need to do that.
“There have been plenty of lessons learned by all involved but we have managed to pull it all together.”
Lt Coleman said the convoy has travelled from the UK, through the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and will cover a distance of more than 1,400 miles (2,300km).
Hundreds of land personnel and around 70 vehicles arrived in Szentes, Hungary, early on Tuesday morning.
They will leave for Romania on Tuesday evening, where they will conduct combat practice exercises.
British troops set off from Marchwood in Hampshire last week, with around 730 vehicles, including Foxhound patrol and Jackal high mobility weapons platform vehicles, Mastiff armoured patrol vehicles as well as fuel tankers and forklift trucks, fitted on to three ferries at the Sea Mounting Centre.
The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland have been deployed for the exercise in Romania.
The two regiments, part of 7 Light Mechanised Brigade – known as The Desert Rats – will form the main battlegroup supported by other UK forces and representatives from other Nato nations.
Speaking earlier this month, armed forces minister Luke Pollard said: “This Government wants the UK to be Nato’s leading European nation.
“Exercise Steadfast Dart demonstrates our unshakeable commitment to Nato and highlights the UK’s key leadership role in the alliance.
“As we approach the three-year anniversary of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we must continue to strengthen our collective defences together to deter (Russian President Vladimir) Putin effectively.”
