The "European Wind" exercise represents the culmination of an intense training cycle, planned and directed by the "Vittorio Veneto" division, which involved the 132nd "Ariete" armored brigade, under the command of Brigadier General Roberto Banci, and the units employees, especially the 11th Regiment Bersaglieri, which within the EUBG constitutes the Multinational Regiment.
The activity, conducted in the Friulian training areas of Cellina Meduna and Comina with the contribution of personnel and specialized means of the Army and other Armed Forces, concluded the preparation of the assets belonging to theEuropean Battle Group (EUBG).
The EUBG is a ready-to-use military instrument at the disposal of the European Union consisting of forces supplied by the European countries adhering to the agreement Defense Cooperation Initiative (DECI), i.e. Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Italy. From the second half of 2021 it will be under Italian leadership, based on the 132nd “Ariete” armored brigade.
The multinational units engaged, in the days of exercise, in addition to reaching the necessary level of amalgamation of the personnel, conducted a series of tactical acts to test the standardized procedures and exercise the intervention capacities of the assets in a hostile environment, in the context of a simulated crisis scenario. The interoperability of computerized communication and weapon systems was also assessed, with the aim of consolidating and enhancing their capacity.
Over eight hundred soldiers from the five participating nations and numerous tactical and combat vehicles took part in the exercise, including VTLM (Light Multirole Tactical Vehicle) "Lince", VCC (Armored Combat Vehicle) "Dardo", PZH-2000 self-propelled vehicles , VTMM (Medium Multirole Tactical Vehicle) “Bear”, Slovenian and Austrian “Dingo” Light Armored Vehicles, AH129 and AB205 helicopters, “Raven” surveillance systems and C-IED assets of the genius.
Simultaneously with the deployment of the "European Wind 21", in the nearby Dandolo training area, the "Ariete" logistics regiment conducted, as brigade support group, a parallel activity aimed at testing their support skills, in particular refueling and maintenance, and evaluating the logistical effort based on the assigned mission.
