NATO forces in Romania recently demonstrated their ability to expand from a multinational battlegroup to an armoured brigade, quickly absorbing thousands of French Army troops for exercise Dacian Fall 25.
NATO battlegroups routinely practise these expansions to ensure that member countries are ready and able to rush reinforcements east, should a crisis arise. Each exercise strengthens the skills and procedures that enable this rapid deployment.
This exercise included troops from Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the United States. The troops worked together to tackle battlefield scenarios and strengthen communications.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Romania has hosted a NATO multinational battlegroup led by France, that also includes Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg. The exercise ran from 20 October to 13 November.
Footage includes tanks manoeuvring across the battlefield, various NATO infantry troops in action and soundbites from Brigadier General Maxime Do Tran, Commander, 7th Armoured Brigade, French Army, and Lieutenant Colonel Valentin Mihalache, Commander, 2nd Mechanised Infantry Battalion Călugăreni, Romanian Army.