Ten thousand troops from NATO Allies and African partner countries recently gathered in North Africa for an exercise aimed at strengthening security against terrorism, illegal migration and piracy.
Synopsis
Over 50 countries – NATO Allies and partner countries – converged in North Africa recently for an exercise aimed at strengthening the security of NATO’s southern flank, while addressing the shared threats of terrorism, illegal migration and piracy.
‘African Lion 2025’ saw 10,000 troops train together in Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia. After two weeks of classroom training, the exercise culminated in a week-long planning exercise, combining land, air, sea, space and cyberspace challenges.
‘African Lion’ is a large-scale exercise led by U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM). Each edition builds on the work of the previous one, shifting the focus to the next phase of a fictitious war. This year, having made significant gains in 2024, the exercise focused on consolidating reclaimed territory, implementing brand new battlefield innovations and establishing humanitarian relief to liberated populations. As such, the exercise incorporated a functioning field hospital, which treated over 12,000 civilians with limited healthcare access over three weeks.
Footage includes armoured vehicles driving across a desert, Special Operations Forces units in action and imagery from a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) response exercise. Soundbites from General Chris Donahue, Commander, NATO Allied Land Command and U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Major Hugo Cartwright, British Army, Colonel Ranjini Danaraj, Director of Operations, U.S. Army Southern Task Force, and Colonel D. M. Sambou, Senegalese Army.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS – A BRIGADE OF ARMOURED VEHICLES DRIVES THROUGH THE DESERT
(00:18) WIDE SHOT – MOROCCAN FORCES ARMEES ROYALE SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMPANY (MSOF) RAPPEL FROM A HELICOPTER TO ASSAULT A SHACK
(00:28) WIDE SHOT – MSOF ENTER THE SHACK
(00:38) SLO MO SHOT – MSOF BLOW UP THE SHACK
(00:53) VARIOUS SHOTS – MOROCCAN F16s FLY OVER THE EXERCISE
(01:07) VARIOUS SHOTS – US HIMARS FIRE
(01:19) VARIOUS SHOTS – SHELLS FROM COMBINED MOROCCAN AND US ARTILLERY LAND ON THE EXERCISE AREA
(02:19) VARIOUS SHOTS – US MARINES CONTROL THE AIR SPACE ABOVE THE EXERCISE
(02:40) MEDIUM GROUP SHOT – MSOF WATCH THE EXERCISE
(02:48) WIDE SHOT – A MOROCCAN HELICOPTER LANDS
(02:54) VARIOUS SHOTS – A MOROCCAN DISPLAY PARADE STANDS TO ATTENTION
(03:09) SLO MO SHOT – A CHINOOK LANDS BEHIND THE DISPLAY PARADE
(03:19) SLO MO SHOT – A HELICOPTER LANDS, KICKING UP SAND
(03:49) VARIOUS SHOTS – US GENERALS MICHAEL LANGLY AND CHRIS DONAHUE ARRIVE TO OBSERVE THE EXERCISE
(03:59) VARIOUS SHOTS – SENEGALESE, MOROCCAN AND US SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES STORM A SHIP
(04:24) VARIOUS SHOTS – MOROCCAN AND SENEGALESE SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES CLIMB A LADDER ABOARD A SUSPICIOUS SHIP
(04:39) WIDE SHOT – A MOROCCAN SOLDIER IN A BOMB SUIT SEARCHES THE SHIP FOR POTENTIAL HAZARDS
(04:46) VARIOUS SHOTS – THE EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL (EOD) TECHNICIAN NEUTRALISES A SUSPICIOUS BRIEFCASE
(04:58) VARIOUS SHOTS – MOROCCAN CBRN DEFENCE SPECIALISTS CHECK HAZMAT SUITS FOR CONTAMINANTS
(05:29) SLO MO SHOT – US MARINE CBRN DEFENCE SPECIALISTS RUN TO THE SCENE
(05:44) SLO MO SHOT – MOROCCAN CBRN DEFENCE SPECIALISTS USE SENSORS TO TEST THEIR HAZMAT SUITS FOR CONTAMINANTS
(06:00) SLO MO SHOT – A MOROCCAN CBRN DEFENCE SPECIALIST WALKS TOWARDS CAMERA
(06:08) SLO MO SHOT – A MOROCCAN FLAG BLOWS IN THE HARBOUR
(06:26) VARIOUS SHOTS SHOT – PATIENTS ARRIVE AT A FIELD HOSPITAL
(06:38) MEDIUM SHOT – THE ENTRANCE TO AN ENT (EAR, NOSE, THROAT) MEDICAL TENT
(06:43) VARIOUS SHOTS – US AND MOROCCAN MILITARY DOCTORS TREAT PATIENTS
(06:54) VARIOUS SHOTS – US MILITARY DENTISTS TREAT MOROCCAN CIVILIANS
(07:04) VARIOUS SHOTS – US AND MOROCCAN SURGEONS PERFORM CATARACT SURGERY
(07:36) MEDIUM SHOT – THE ENTRANCE SIGN FOR A BRIEFING ROOM
(07:43) VARIOUS SHOTS – EXERCISE PARTICIPANTS LISTEN TO A MULTINATIONAL BRIEFING
(08:14) VARIOUS SHOTS – MULTINATIONAL MILITARY PERSONNEL TAKE NOTES DURING A PLANNING EXERCISE
(08:34) VARIOUS SHOTS – EXERCISE PARTICIPANTS PLAN ALONGSIDE NAVAL ASSETS VIA A LIVE LINK TO A MOROCCAN NAVY SHIP
(08:55) VARIOUS SHOTS – MULTINATIONAL EXERCISE PARTICIPANTS SHARE IDEAS DURING THE PLANNING EXERCISE
(09:11) MEDIUM SHOT – THE MOROCCAN AND AMERICAN FLAGS FLY NEXT TO EACH OTHER
(09:19) SLO MO SHOT – THE MOROCCAN AND AMERICAN FLAGS FLY NEXT TO EACH OTHER
(09:31) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) GENERAL CHRIS DONAHUE, COMMANDER, NATO ALLIED LAND COMMAND AND U.S. ARMY EUROPE AND AFRICA, US ARMY
“So cooperation on the southern flank is extremely important, because anything that we do, we always want to make sure that our friends and partners from North Africa, in particular, are always part of, and we have shared values and understanding of what needs to happen. So if a crisis or a situation ever would evolve, we already have that interoperability, friendship and relationship so that we could accomplish what we need to, together.”
(10:01) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) GENERAL CHRIS DONAHUE, COMMANDER, NATO ALLIED LAND COMMAND AND U.S. ARMY EUROPE AND AFRICA, US ARMY
“United States Army Europe, Africa and the LANDCOM Commander, all three of those roles all intersect right here in the Mediterranean. So the reason this is so important for NATO, here specifically, is clearly Morocco and Gibraltar. I mean, it’s the entry point in and out of one of the vital waterways and bodies of water for NATO. And this is the southern flank. Morocco is the southern flank.”
(10:28) SOUNTBITE (ENGLISH), MAJOR HUGO CARTWRIGHT, BRITISH ARMY
“It’s important partly because this is NATO’s southern flank and the countries here not only have got very strong relationships, historically and present, with other NATO countries, but actually they will form a very important part of ensuring that NATO’s security is protected from the south. But equally that we can contribute towards their security from the north.”
(10:49) SOUNTBITE (ENGLISH), MAJOR HUGO CARTWRIGHT, BRITISH ARMY
“I’ve learnt already so much from our partners here. It definitely isn’t one way. I think we learn about how each other work, we learn each other’s’ processes, generate interoperability, understand a little bit more about each other’s kit and equipment, and hopefully understand a little bit more each other’s major dilemmas. It can be really easy to assume what other peoples’ security problems and worries are, but actually until you start talking to them, you don’t really know.”
(11:17) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), COLONEL RANJINI DANARAJ, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, U.S. ARMY SOUTHERN TASK FORCE
“You know, I’ve been really impressed with the training audience we have here, representatives of the FAR, of Portuguese, Brazilian, Egyptian partners, so really a diverse audience. And I told them up front, the two big things that are indicators of our success is one, how well we’re organised, and two is how well the training audience stays engaged. So you don’t see a lot of people behind me, and that’s because they’re engaged in the classrooms to my left and right in the planning process that’s underway.”
(11:47) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH), COLONEL RANJINI DANARAJ, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, U.S. ARMY SOUTHERN TASK FORCE
“I’d say Morocco is essential to the security of NATO’s southern flank. Also, Morocco is one of our most developed partner nations and non-NATO allies. So, I think that, you know, their ability to now start to export security and their understanding of planning for operations, I think, is essential for our future moving forward.”
(12:11) SOUNDBITE (FRENCH), COLONEL D. M. SAMBOU, SENEGALESE ARMY
“For us, ‘African Lion’ is more than an exercise. First of all, it’s a space for military dialogue, a space for mutual learning and a space for interoperability. Interoperability on the human level, interoperability on the equipment level, but also interoperability on the procedural level. It is obvious that for the success of missions at the international level, we need a good mutual knowledge. Knowledge of military cultures. Knowledge of different equipment with which we are called upon to work. And finally, knowledge of a common doctrinal corpus that allows us to plan and have a corpus of examples as planning tools.”
(12:55) SOUNDBITE (FRENCH), COLONEL D. M. SAMBOU, SENEGALESE ARMY
“The objective is to maintain peace and stability in the region. That’s what ‘African Lion’ is doing, strengthening our capabilities in this regard. And for the Senegalese Forces, in addition to what I have just said, it is an opportunity to strengthen our ties with partners such as the United States of America, Morocco, and so many other countries that are participating today in this ‘African Lion’ exercise.”
(13:16) SOUNDBITE (FRENCH), COLONEL D. M. SAMBOU, SENEGALESE ARMY
“The international community, which adheres to the sacrosanct principle of collective security which, from the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 to the NATO treaty and its Article 5, through the Charter of the United Nations in its Article 24, promote the consideration of security issues in a comprehensive manner by all countries.”
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