North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
May 29, 2015
French tanks take part in Exercise PUMA 2015
DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, Poland: Exercise PUMA 2015 wrapped up in Western Poland on Friday, 29 May 2015. Exercise PUMA was a manoeuvre exercise involving Polish, US and French forces. It allowed the Allied nations to test responsiveness, interoperability enhancement, and provided them with demanding opportunities to conduct small to medium sized armour and mechanized infantry field training.
A French armoured battle group with Main Battle Tanks Leclerc was deployed to the Drawsko Pomorskie camp, in north-western Poland for seven weeks, where it carried out training and operational readiness activities with the Polish and the US army.
Exercise PUMA 2015 included advanced battle drills and live firing exercise scenarios. The involvement of the French Leclerc Main Battle Tanks illustrated the importance of the exercise. It is also evidence of France’s determination to stand alongside Poland and its NATO Allies.
Stressing the importance of showing interoperability within NATO, Lieutenant-Colonel Henri Le Losq, Commander of the French detachment, said “Exercise Puma 2015 was an excellent opportunity to conduct integrated and extensive field training against multi scenarios and capabilities”.
“With the Polish tanks units, we stand together and train together in order to strengthen our partnership. It is important that we show readiness, resolve and unity”, he added.
French and Polish military cooperation, founded on a long-standing friendship between the two countries, has been developed and enhanced regularly throughout the past decade. It is covered by an intergovernmental agreement on defence cooperation that was signed in April 2002, reinforced in 2008 by a joint declaration on the French and Polish strategic partnership. This cooperation has intensified in the context of the Ukrainian crisis.
Joint participation in air policing operations, which constituted a framework of regular engagement, has been reinforced with the NATO assurance measures. The hosting of the French fighter detachment at Poland’s Malbork Air Base in 2014 marked a new step in increasing our interoperability. In addition, since 1 April 2014, French AWACS-type radar aircraft have helped perform surveillance of Baltic and Polish airspace. These flights are still operated regularly from Avord Air Base in France.
The deployment of the French armoured unit to exercise PUMA 2015 is a continuation of the already significant effort France has made within the NATO assurance measures framework.
Story by SHAPE Public Affairs Office
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