On September 25 DV and Media Day of multinational surface-based air defence exercise Exercise Tobruq Legacy 20 will take place at the Lithuanian Air Force Base in Šiauliai (Lakūnų g. 3).
The multinational exercise Lithuania is hosting has pulled together approx. 900 troops deployed by the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and the United States.
“I would like to highlight two points of importance. First, we are looking at the COVID-19 situation as an impulse that brings new opportunities – not as a challenge. That proves that NATO allies are able to work and fight in different circumstances, even amidst a biological threat. Second, we all know this exercise has pulled together surface-based air defence personnel from 10 allied countries, different procedures, different equipment. We have put together a unified system using that which we had, and we were learning to stand shoulder to shoulder and fight in real-life conditions. The key focus of our exercise was interoperability of equipment and procedures,” Commander of the Lithuanian Air Force Col Dainius Guzas told about what was important about the exercise.
The exercise objective is primarily to train interoperability and tactical NATO surface-based air defence procedures in Lithuanian and allied units and to hone air command and control. The exercise promotes better integration of multinational surface-based air defence capabilities in order to improve readiness for a potential collective defence scenario.
“This is the first time Lithuania is hosting an exercise of such scope. We are training according to common NATO battlefield management procedures, from acquisition to destruction of targets, on a daily basis, involving command and control elements of every level, from Air Operations Centre to a fire unit in a fighting positions, if that’s what a task requires,” Director of the exercise, staff officer (Lithuanian Air Force HQ) LT Col Vitalijus Sadrejevas said.
Allies have brought their short, medium, and long-range air defence equipment, such as Patriot, SAMP/T, Avenger, Mistral, RBS 70, GROM, Poprad, Stinger, to the two-week exercise.
The DV and Media Day event is planned to be attended by representatives of the Presidential Palace, Committee on National Security and Defence, Ministry of National Defence , Lithuanian Armed Forces, NATO, and participating countries, foreign Defence Attachés based in Lithuania, and representatives of other institutions. Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis is also expected to be in attendance.
International Exercise Tobruq Legacy was first held in 2015 by air defence personnel of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In 2015 soldiers of the Lithuanian Air Force were training NATO air defence operations in a platoon-sized formation in the Czech Republic, in 2016 – in a battery-sized unit in Slovakia, and in 2017 Lithuanians cooperated with our allies in training to provide command and control of an international surface-based air defence unit of a level equivalent to the Air Defence Battalion.
Tobruq Legacy 17 was hosted by Lithuania: it involved approx. 500 of training audience, 30 air defence systems from Lithuania and four other NATO allies – the United Kingdom, United States, Latvia, and Poland. The exercise was held across sites in Lithuania, Czech Republic and Romania concurrently, under the command of a Joint Force Air Component Command established for the exercise in Romania. The United States for the first time deployed the long-range air defence system Patriot for the exercise in Lithuania: it is one of the most cutting-edge missile and new generation aircraft defence systems in the world.
DV and Media Day programme
1040–1100 Arrival of guests at the Lithuanian Air Force Base (Šiauliai, Lakūnų g. 3);
1100–1105 Going from the Air Base to the exercise location;
1105–1130 Introduction of the exercise;
1130–1200 Static display of exercise equipment;
1200–1220 Tour of the surface-based air defence operations facility;
1220–1250 Press point, interview opportunity;
1250 Departure of distinguished visitors.
For the Media:
To cover the event on September 25, please register (please give your name and surname, media outlet, contacts – cell phone no., e-mail address) until September 24, 1700hrs, at [email protected], or +370 61 435 697
Freelance and contributing reporters and foreign media representatives will need accreditation given by the MoD Strategic Communication and Public Relations Department, please contact via e-mail at [email protected] (information needed – filled out questionnaire form, copies of an ID document and letter from the media outlet the information will be contributed to).
Only registered and accredited media, as explained above, will have access to the event. Media representatives are also asked to follow the recommendation of the Ministry of Health to prevent the coronavirus spread: please observe social distancing requirements and wear face masks.
Information credits: Lithuanian Armed Forces
Photo credits: Lithuanian Air Force
