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US paratroopers take part in large-scale exercises in Lithuania

Tactical field training exercise code-named Black Arrow has started at Lithuania’s training range in Rukla

© EPA/TOM DUBRAVEC/Archive

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VILNIUS, May 12. /ITAR-TASS/. Large-scale tactical field training exercise code-named Black Arrow has started at Lithuania’s training range in Rukla, with the participation of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team (“Sky Soldiers”), Lithiania’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

Commander of Motorized Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf (core unit of the Lithuanian army) Colonel Raimundas Vaiksnoras said the drills are oriented towards “completion and control of defensive tasks and interoperability between different units.”

The drills are “the largest and one of the most important exercises in the combat training cycle of the MIB Iron Wolf this year,” Vaiksnoras noted. The training will involve around 1,500 servicemen, including 150 US servicemen who have been staying in Lithuania since the end of April. The US servicemen belong to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Vicenza (Italy), the Lithuanian troops commander said.

The Black Arrow maneuvers will continue until May 23.

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