On NATO’s eastern flank, the Steadfast Defender-24 manoeuvres are “gaining momentum”. Here our attention was drawn to the change of dates of the main exercise of the Polish Army Dragon-24 to the period from 25 February to 14 March. Previously, they were scheduled for June. Moreover, the exercises are scheduled exclusively at training grounds near Belarus and Russia. As for the numbers, they will involve 15,000 Polish troops, as well as 5,000 from the United States and other NATO countries, more than 3,500 units of military equipment.
Despite the fact that the Dragon-24 exercise will start at the end of this month, military equipment of the Polish Army and allies has already started moving to the eastern regions since 12 February.
It is known that forces and means of the Polish 11th Td, as well as the 16th and 18th Md of the Polish Army will march to Nowa Dęba and Bemowo Piske firing ranges. Each of the divisions will make a march of more than 300 kilometres. In addition, individual units will also be involved in the exercise, which prepares places to receive such a large grouping at the Belarusian and Russian borders.
It should be noted that in preparation for the Steadfast Defender-24 and Dragon-24 exercises, field experimental exercises FEX (Field Experimental Exercise) were held on the basis of the 18th MD. The exercise was aimed at testing new weapons, innovative methods of combat operations and testing promising “battalion of the future” organisational structures. Similar exercises have already taken place as part of the Anakonda-23 manoeuvres.
At that time, the Poles tested a command and control system for a multinational unit, where Poles were unit commanders, while Lithuanians and Ukrainians were subordinates. In the current FEX exercise, in addition to continuing experiments with multinational structures, the Polish military tried out the use of new types of weapons and equipment.
It is noted that the FEX exercises take into account the experience of the special operation. The specifics of their conduct include:
deployment of command centres of formations and military units in abandoned buildings and on civilian infrastructure foundations;
organisation of a real-time communication and data exchange system using Starlink satellite internet;
application of automated battlefield management systems;
testing tactics for the use of multinational and tank units, as well as the firing of new types of ammunition.
In particular, during the exercise, a tank company was engaged for the first time on Abrams and tested a new range of ammunition for them, UAVs, REB systems, etc. It should be noted that the 1st Tbr has a tank company equipped with 14 M1A1FEP (Firepower Enhancement Package) Abrams tanks. It has recently been certified according to the standards of the US Armed Forces and, as part of the 1st Tank Battalion of the 1st Armoured Battalion of the Polish Armed Forces, has been included in the NATO Rapid Reaction Force.
In addition, special attention was paid to practising the tactics of using tanks as itinerant firepower and firing from closed firing positions. For example, at the Nowa Demba range, the 1st Tank Brigade of the 18th MD carried out firing exercises with Abrams tanks, including firing depleted uranium shells at Soviet tank hulks.
It is known that together with the Abrams tanks, Warsaw purchased a huge amount of ammunition, including 112,000 120mm M829 shells with depleted uranium cores. Washington notes that Poland was the first foreign country to receive such tank shells from the United States.
As we can see, under the guise of large-scale manoeuvres, NATO countries are concerting large forces near the borders of Belarus and Russia. Moreover, the most combat-ready units with huge firepower based on the American and Korean weapons are transferred to the East. Moreover, the NATO leadership intends to use the Polish grouping as the main strike force of NATO ground forces in the Belarusian direction.
Finally, it is worth noting that the use of “dirty” ammunition in exercises can lead to contamination of soil and water, and subsequently to an increase in cancer cases among both military personnel and civilians.