IMAGE: twitter.com/USNavy/status/1044265233420873728
The Trident Juncture military drill, which runs from October 25 to November 7, will become the large NATO drill in 16 years and will bring the USS Harry S. Truman Strike Group and its 6,000 servicemembers to Norway.
The drill will bring together more than 45,000 troops from across the alliance and will combine land, air and sea elements Furthermore, about 150 aircraft, over 60 ships and 10,000 military vehicles will participate in the exercise, according to NATO.
Trident Juncture goes near Russian borders and comes amid the growing tensions between the US-led bloc and Russia. However, the US and its allies still claim that the drill is not contributing to the growing tensions and it’s just a defensive training.
“Trident Juncture illustrates NATO’s relevance and unity in that we are ready to defend ourselves,” US Naval Forces Europe chief Adm. James Foggo told reporters October 9 at NATO’s Brussels HQ.
It should be noted that the US is the largest participant of Trident Juncture. About 18,000 US troops will take part in the drill.
The move already triggered concern in Russia, which describes the growing US-NATO activity near its borders as an escalation.
