More than 700 soldiers are currently participating in the Loyal Leda 2024 exercise in the Czech Republic, a follow-up to the largest North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) exercise since the end of the Cold War, known as Steadfast Defender 2024.
The exercise began in January and is being held successively in Poland and the Czech Republic. The soldiers are currently training in Bechyne, South Bohemia. The main objective of the event is to practise conducting joint collective defence operations at the corps and division level.
“The scenario is based on the response to a hypothetical aggression of an adversary against a NATO member country and the activation of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty,” said Jakub Simicek from the Office of the Chief of the Czech Army General Staff. “The scenario covers a wide range of incidents of modern hybrid warfare, including those from space and cyber domains.”
Steadfast Defender 2024 will involve a total of 90,000 troops from all NATO countries, including new member Sweden, over the coming months.
The troops now training in the Czech Republic are mainly from Germany and the Netherlands. They are complemented by around two dozen Czech soldiers. “Our army is mainly hosting the German-Dutch alliance soldiers in this exercise, and the main task is to provide all logistical support to these soldiers during their movements on our territory, during the construction of the facilities, and during all activities within the exercise,” said Simicek.
NATO and the European Union are also preparing for the possibility of a military conflict with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict is now in its third year.
U.S. General Christopher Cavoli, the commander of NATO forces in Europe and head of the U.S. military in Europe, said Steadfast Defender 2024 is a clear demonstration of NATO’s unity, strength and commitment to protect each other, the shared values, and the rules-based international order.
