LONDON: British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps on Monday announced that the UK will send 20,000 troops to one of NATO’s largest exercises since the Cold War.
He said that the deployment, is the UK’s biggest to NATO in four decades.
The British troops from the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Army will be deployed across Europe and beyond for the military alliance’s latest exercise Steadfast Defender.
Personnel from 31 other member states and Sweden, which is a candidate to join the transatlantic alliance will be taking part in the military exercise.
Shapps in a wide-ranging speech in London said today’s NATO is largest than ever but the challenges are bigger too. He added that the international rules-based order is facing rising dangers.
The UK contingent will comprise of fighter jets and surveillance aircraft, the navy’s most advanced warships and submarines, and a full range of army capabilities.
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Britain will also send Carrier Strike Group that features its flagship aircraft carrier and F-35B fighter jets and helicopters to the drills in the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea and Norwegian Sea.
Meanwhile some 16,000 soldiers will be deployed across eastern Europe from next month to June.
Shapps was being appointed to the post in August and used his speech to argue that the post-Cold War peace dividend has ended.
He said that the NATO’s adversaries are more connected with each other than ever whereas Western allies are standing at crossroads.
He warned that NATO’s adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers.
