source: SME

2000 soldiers and 250 vehicle

In the course of the final exercise all weapon systems used

This morning the Italian contingent, led by the Bersaglieri "Garibaldi" Brigade, conducted, with the personnel of the 2nd Army Brigade of Qatar, the main phase of the NASR exercise 19. This complex activity, took place in the presence of the Chief of Defence, General Enzo Vecciarelli, the Chief of the Italian Army General Staff, Lieutenant General Salvatore Farina and of the highest local military authorities. About 800 Italian soldiers were employed, 1200 Qatari soldiers and over 250 combat and logistic vehicles.


From last September 12th, following a careful coordinated planning between the two nations and through a complex logistic operation, the national structure exercised was deployed at 3,800 km from Italy, in the training area of Al-Galail, a town in the south of capital, Doha. An area with characteristics suitable for carrying out activities which, due to the number of tracked and wheeled vehicles used and the volume of fire, would not be possible to develop in training areas in the Italian territory.


The forces of the Battle Group level, organized according to the multi-domain approach, expressed different operational capabilities, in order to maximize the combat power in tactical activities and to verify the level of cooperation and interoperability of the command and control systems between the two Armies. Furthermore, as part of the training activities developed by Italian personnel, some of the skills have also tested in order to be used in favor of  NATO.


The final exercise, carried out at the end of a joint training cycle lasted about a month, involved a fire demonstration of all the weapon systems. In particular, the Italian heavy infantry team of the Task Force, based on the 1st Bersaglieri Regiment, composed by about 300 soldiers, used "Dardo" ACV, "Ariete" tanks, "Freccia" 8x8 MAV, 120 mm and 81 mm mortars and "Lince" Light Multirole Tactical Vehicle (LMTV).


Also some snipers participated in the activity, a Raven team, systems against Milan and Spike, a team of "Folgore" Paratroopers RAO Regiment (for the Reconnaissance and Acquisition of Objectives, engineers and vehicles of the state-of-the-art such as The Multi-Role Medium Tactical Vehicle (VTMM) "Orso" logistical support vehicles, pioneer tanks and health care vehicles. To complete the deployment, FH70 howitzers, Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) and Self-propelled howitzer PzH 2000, the state-of-the-art of artillery with the possibility of using GPS-guided and long-range munitions, capable of hitting smaller targets by limiting the possible collateral damage.


In this context, the professional versatility of women and men in the Army was confirmed also because, after this activity, they will be ready to operate in situations characterized by extreme environmental factors and capable of using modern command and control systems even in technologically degraded conditions.


The NASR 19, which will end on October 27th, represents an important multinational training opportunity, allowing the consolidation of the technical-tactical procedures of the units deployed by the Italian and Qatari Army and it is framed in a strategic scenario of reference increasingly influenced by multiple dynamics and in continuous evolution.



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