Goal: take the airport and safe it so that it can operate the HIMARS rocket launcher – this is the task of the 6th Airborne Brigade divisions during the global Swift consequence '25' exercise. The main forces allocated by the Polish Army just reached Finland and entered action.
On Monday, late evening, CASA transport aircraft arrived from Kraków Airport and Hercules. There were parachutists on board. 6th Airborne Brigade. A fewer hours later, soldiers checked in to Finland, where the "Swift consequence '25" exercises are underway. “Our task is to occupy and safe the airport so that it can be operated by the HIMARS launched from Poland,” says Major Paweł Ryś of the 6th BPD.
Poles must one more time repel attacks by diversion and reconnaissance groups linked to a regular army which, according to the script, threatens Finland from the east. Finnish soldiers became the diversions. “Like us, they were equipped with laser shooting simulators,” explains Major Ryś. The strategy consists of weapon caps and vests equipped with sensors. erstwhile the trigger is pulled, the weapon emits a laser beam, and if it reaches the target, the sensor signals the hit. This makes the game between the practicing parties more realistic.
An additional challenge for soldiers is the place of exercise itself. – The area we must keep is simply a civilian airport close Helsinki. The organizers hired them from the owner. The military doesn't work there all day, says Major Ryś. During the “Swift consequence '25” the 6 BPD soldiers work, among another things, with the divisions of another Polish unit – 25th Air Cavalry Brigadeas well as the Finnish 2nd Corps. HIMARS system He's moving a simulated fire. Last week, the fire opened an identical launcher, only it belonged to the US Army. Polish soldiers besides took part in this episode, or more specifically – a division of 6 BPD, which reached Finland even before the main forces. “Our tasks were similar, but we operated from another airport,” says the officer. Poles will stay in Finland until the first days of June.
Meanwhile, not only Polish land troops were active in the exercises. An crucial task besides came to the Navy. It is liable for the movement of parts of the force through the Baltic. A fewer days ago, the port of Świnoujście left the ship Transport-minor ORP “Torun” from the 8th Coast Defence Fleet. The unit headed for Gdynia, where HIMARS and the command wagon, including Humvee terrain wagons and Aero advanced mobility vehicles, entered its deck. Equipment belongs to the 1st Rocket Brigade (newly formed unit) and 6th Airborne Brigade respectively. After leaving Gdynia, “Torun” took a course for confederate Finland to yet wrap in the port of Kotka. That's where the vehicles went to land.
– The HIMARS launcher was transported for the first time – Captain Mar admits. Rafał Sławiński, commander of the ORP “Torun”. – Before that, a fewer weeks earlier we conducted a training loading in the port. In specified cases, it's a simple procedure. Although the crew gets accurate information about the dimensions and weight of the vehicles we will carry, the details are always worth checking in practice – he adds. The transport itself ran smoothly, although as the ship's commander admits, at the first phase of the passage the weather was far from ideal. There was a comparatively strong wind, and there were rather advanced waves. However, due to the circumstantial plan – above all the flat bottom – the rocking on Polish transport and mine ships can be powerfully felt.
The passing of troops through the Baltic is not fresh to sailors. The 767 task ships carried out akin tasks many times. In erstwhile years, they went to Sweden or the Baltic States. At 1 time, 1 of the OTRMs even went to Norway. So far on board these units were carried launchers and command wagons separated from Marine Rocket Unit, but besides equipment of the 12th Szczecin Mechanized Division and the 11th Lubuska Armored Cavalry Division. OTRM crews besides worked with allies, including Germany and Norway.
The 767 task ships were besides designed for landing operations. Thanks to the flat bottom, as well as decently filled and emptied ballast tanks, they are able to operate even in places where depth does not exceed 2 metres. They can approach the beach and open a peculiar ramp to let soldiers and vehicles to land. The military has practiced this many times. During subsequent global editions Baltops exercises not only Poles, but besides marine soldiers from Romania and the USA, landed from the OTRM. – 8 FOWs have 5 specified ships. Together, they can shift the component of land troops into the battalion's strength, for example, of 500 soldiers and 45 Rosomaks, to the indicated place – emphasised Mr Grzegorz Lewandowski, spokesperson for the Świnouian flotilla.
"Swift consequence '25" exercises involving Poles are part of large-scale manoeuvres under the codename ‘Defender '25’. They consist of bringing respective 1000 soldiers from the United States to Europe and bringing them into combat with allies. 3 major exercises were included in the task scenario. In addition to the Swift Response, which assumes 5 airborne operations in northern Europe, are the Immediate consequence and the Saber Guardian in the confederate and central parts of the continent. The maneuvers are expected to last until the end of June, with a full of 25,000 soldiers participating.
