Tanner: “Largest Federal Army exercise in more than ten years”
Vienna (OTS) – The large-scale exercise “Protective Shield 24” will take place from June 10th to 21st, 2024. With international participation from Germany, Sweden, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, around 6,000 soldiers and civilian employees will take part in the exercise. It is practiced in the four federal states of Burgenland, Lower Austria, Styria and Carinthia. The training is conducted in Wiener Neustadt.
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner said: “Protective Shield 24 is the largest exercise for our armed forces in more than ten years. And large-scale exercises like this are necessary for a smoothly functioning national defense. In addition to the cadre soldiers, the militia is also sending a strong signal as an important integral part of the Federal Army with the participation of around 1,000 militia soldiers in this exercise. With ‘Protection Shield 24’, the focus is on national military defense and the joint training of cadre soldiers, militia soldiers and basic military servants is to be strengthened. I wish all exercise participants a mission-related and accident-free exercise.”
The main exercise goal of “Protection Shield 24” is to further develop the operational readiness of the armed forces and to consolidate core military capabilities for planning and leading a tactical deployment of land, air and special operations forces as part of a domestic protective operation. In an increasingly fragile security environment in Europe and beyond, the Austrian Armed Forces must once again be capable of military national defense.
In the “Protective Shield 24” exercise project, the brigades, as the main pillars of the battle, work together with the military commands as well as with authorities and emergency organizations. In particular, the course of the exercise involves the protection of lines of movement, spaces and objects as well as critical infrastructure, the reconnaissance, surveillance and neutralization of enemy groups as well as the rapid deployment of troops and reserves with the cooperation of land, air and special operations forces.
Over 1,100 land vehicles and 15 aircraft are taking part in the exercise. Of these, around 85 are lightly armored vehicles and over 40 armored combat vehicles. Eleven helicopters from the air force are used, including the AW169, which is currently in production, three fixed-wing aircraft and a Eurofighter. In addition, this exercise will be linked to a second exercise, the European Advance 2024 (EURAD). This second exercise serves to certify and prepare for the Rapid Deployment Capacity, the expanded EU Battlegroup, in 2025.
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