The new German tank brigade that forms the backbone of NATO multinational forces in Lithuania is holding its first large-scale battle drills.
German Army battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and infantry with Tank Brigade 45 pushed into the densely wooded forests of Pabrade Training Area to fight through realistic combat scenarios during exercise Freedom Shield 26. The brigade was announced in 2023 as the first German Army brigade permanently stationed abroad, and it was formally activated on 1 April 2025. Freedom Shield is the first time it has deployed on large-scale combat drills.
The exercise involved 2,900 soldiers and 800 vehicles from eight NATO Allies, namely Belgium, Czechia, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway.
The creation of Tank Brigade 45 was a historic milestone for the German armed forces, which are currently undergoing a massive overhaul in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Germany has led NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Lithuania since 2017; that battalion-sized unit now reports to Tank Brigade 45. Two of the brigade’s armoured battalions are still stationed in Germany and travelled to Lithuania for the exercise; the brigade should reach full operational capability by the end of 2027, with around 5,000 military and civilian personnel based in Lithuania.
Footage includes shots of German Army tanks, vehicles and soldiers moving around the training area and engaging in simulated combat during the exercise.
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS – GERMAN ARMY LEOPARD 2 TANKS MOVING THROUGH FOREST
(00:26) WIDE SHOT – GERMAN ARMY BRIDGE-LAYING VEHICLE MOVING THROUGH FOREST
(00:33) VARIOUS SHOTS – GERMAN ARMY SOLDIERS RIDING IN THE TURRETS OF THEIR VEHICLES
(00:48) MEDIUM SHOT – GERMAN ARMY TIGER ATTACK HELICOPTER FLYING OVER TREELINE
(00:53) VARIOUS SHOTS – COLUMNS OF GERMAN ARMY VEHICLES RETURNING TO STAGING AREA
(01:10) MEDIUM SHOT – NORWEGIAN ARMY CV90 INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES ASSIGNED TO BATTLEGROUP LITHUANIA MOVING DOWN TANK TRAIL
(01:18) VARIOUS SHOTS – GERMAN ARMY SOLDIERS MARCHING DOWN ROAD
(01:29) VARIOUS WIDE SHOTS – GERMAN SOLDIERS AND VEHICLES RETURNING TO STAGING AREA UNDER INTENSE DOWNPOUR
(01:42) VARIOUS SHOTS – GERMAN ARMY PUMA INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES MOVING THROUGH TRAINING AREA
(02:02) CLOSE-UP – GERMAN ARMY TANK COMMANDER PEERING OUT OF TURRET
(02:07) WIDE SHOT – LEOPARD 2 TANK BACKING OUT OF FIGHTING POSITION
(02:15) VARIOUS SHOTS – GERMAN SOLDIERS RECEIVING A MISSION BRIEFING
(02:29) VARIOUS SHOTS – GERMAN SOLDIERS LOADING BLANK AMMUNTION INTO MAGAZINES
(02:37) VARIOUS SHOTS – GERMAN SOLDIERS MOVING THROUGH WOODS AND ENGAGING IN SIMULATED COMBAT
(03:36) SLOW-MO SHOT (NO SOUND) – LEOPARD 2 TANK MOVING THROUGH FOREST
(03:43) SLOW-MO SHOT (NO SOUND) – PUMA INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLE MOVING THROUGH TRAINING AREA
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