Conducted on May 13-31, international special operations training event, Exercise Flaming Sword 2024, focused on keeping interoperability and readiness for special operations at tops heights. Over 1600 participants from 14 NATO Allies were given an opportunity to execute special forces operations in response to a range of different threats in the Baltic states’ airspace, land and territorial sea, as well as cyber and information space, quickly and effectively as a coalition.
“Acting together with the NATO Allies allows us to use numerous different air, maritime and land platforms and makes us unpredictable to the adversary. Unpredictability and speed are the key principles in special operations,” said Commander of the Special Operations Forces Col Darius Milašius after the exercise.
Exercise Flaming Sword 2024 involved the Joint Air Force Component, formed by the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber, F18 fighter aircraft of the Spanish Air Force and F16 fighter aircraft of the Portuguese Air Force detachments conducting the NATO Air Policing Mission in Lithuania, ensuring air supremacy and support to operations. While combat divers of the Special operations Command of the Bundeswehr conducted their first-ever tasks in the Baltic Sea and ashore supported by a submarine. Combat divers of the Special Operations Forces of Denmark also trained at Flaming Sword 2024.
One of the objectives of the exercise was to offer as realistic settings and security challenges as possible for decisions-makers using information space. Representatives of Ci-MEG (Civil Military Engagement) Group of the Belgian Armed Forces (information operation planners, analysts, developers and psyops group members) joined the exercise together with information operations experts from the Czech Republic and the United States, and the 30th Commando Information Exploitation Group of the Royal Marines from the UK.
The exercise was for the first time attended by the Surgical Team of the strategic Ally, German Special Operations Forces, who trained unconventional medical procedures and techniques and medical airlift with the Lithuanian Special Operations Forces Surgical Team.
The largest special forces exercise in the Baltic region was attended by the Lithuanian Land Force, Air Force, Navy, National Defence Volunteer Force, Logistics Command and the Military Police, and the Strategic Communication Department of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The exercise was supported by the Lithuanian public institutions: State Security Department, Lithuanian Police, ARAS Antiterrorist Operations Unit, State Border Guard Service, Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, National Ambulance Service.
Photo credits: Lithuanian Armed Forces, Special Operations Forces.
