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A U.S. Army paratrooper assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade recovers his parachute after exiting a U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules over Memel Drop Zone at Gaiziunai Training Area, Lithuania, during a joint forcible entry operation as part of Swift Response 2025, May 16, 2025.
The airborne operation integrated 1,650 paratroopers from five NATO nations—including Germany, Italy, France, and the Netherlands—demonstrating the Alliance’s ability to rapidly project combat power without notice.
DEFENDER 25 brings U.S. troops together with forces from 29 Allied and partner nations to build readiness through large-scale combat training from May 11-June 24, 2025. DEFENDER 25 increases the lethality of the NATO alliance through large-scale tactical training maneuvers and long-range fires, builds unit readiness in a complex joint, multinational environment and leverages host nation capabilities to increase the U.S. Army’s operational reach. During three large-scale combat training exercises—Swift Response, Immediate Response, and Saber Guardian—Ally and partner forces integrate and expand multi-domain operations capability, demonstrating combined command and control structures and readiness to respond to crisis and conflict.
As the U.S. Army’s only Airborne Brigade forward-stationed in Europe, the 173rd serves as the Contingency Response Force for U.S. European Command—able to deploy on short notice to deter aggression and defend NATO’s eastern flank. Swift Response, linked to Lithuania’s national exercise Iron Wolf, validated multinational warfighting readiness with combined air-land operations and medical support.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jose Lora)
| Date Taken: | 05.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.18.2025 13:19 |
| Photo ID: | 9042811 |
| VIRIN: | 250516-A-NE301-2769 |
| Resolution: | 5495x4396 |
| Size: | 9.29 MB |
| Location: | GAIZIUNAI, LT |
| Web Views: | 8 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 173rd Airborne Brigade Leads Multinational Airborne Operation During Swift Response 2025 in Lithuania [Image 11 of 11], by SGT Jose Lora, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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