TSRANCHA, BULGARIA - This is no action movie, but a full-fledged display of NATO’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) elite capabilities - blink and you’ll miss it. The objective: Conduct a rapid infiltration to capture a high-value individual (HVI) from an enemy-occupied complex in a hostile environment.
What we have seen today [...] is the perfect illustration of how our NATO Alliance can quickly project effective power in any environment
The ensemble: Spanish Air Force NH-90 Helicopters, Bulgarian AS532 Helicopter, Spanish and Bulgarian tactical vehicles with mounted machine guns, a precision sniper team, and the integrated combat power of Spanish and Bulgarian Special Forces. This scenario, carried out by a combined Spanish-Bulgarian Special Operations Unit, encompasses the recent collaborative and integrated SOF training taking place at Tsrancha Training Area, Bulgaria, between the Spanish SOF that comprises NATO’s Allied Reaction Force Special Operations Component Command and Bulgarian SOF, under Bulgaria’s Joint Special Operations Command.
Now - Let’s go!
FAST: Armed tactical vehicles rapidly move into place - surrounding, isolating, and ready to engage potential external threats while providing security to the incoming main effort - no one in, no one out!
SWIFT: Helicopters enter the scene - with two identified positions, Spanish and Bulgarian SOF quickly fast rope on their designated targets; one on the top of a four-story facility and the other on the ground directly adjacent, both ready to enter from roof and ground entrances - they’re ready!
PRECISE: Simultaneously, both SOF teams perform breaching techniques, utilising explosives, and creating access points - they’re in. They engage notional targets, clearing room by room, until the high-value individual (HVI) is captured. Outdoors, a precision sniper team engages distant targets allowing the teams to exit for an air extraction - mission complete!
This all took place in a matter of minutes and is a testament to the SOF combat enhancement and force integrated training taking place in Bulgaria as part of NATO Exercise Steadfast Dart 25. With approximately 400 Bulgarian and 650 Spanish SOF troops across five training areas, the host nation of Bulgaria served as the NATO ARF Spanish SOCC headquarters and training venue. This enabled multi-domain and integrated SOF operations alongside Bulgarian SOF partners.
Major General Eldon Millar, Deputy Commander, NRDC Italy said “What we have seen today, demonstrated by the Spanish and Special Operations Component of the Allied Reaction Force, is the perfect illustration of how our NATO Alliance can quickly project effective power in any environment along with the commitment to do so - it is a powerful combination.” He continued, “As the ARF SOCC Commander, I am very proud to command the troops you see here, forming the very first ARF Special Operations Component Command…integrating land, maritime and air Special Operations Units, is multi-domain by its own nature and its operational capabilities are able to generate effects in all domains, with specific focus on the cognitive dimension.”
