CINCU, Romania - NATO’s Exercise Noble Jump 2021 has commenced with the deployment of some 4,000 troops from 12 nations spanning the alliance from the USA to Montenegro, bringing more than 600 vehicles and aircraft to the Cincu training area in central Romania.
The exercise focal point is the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) Land Component, which since Jan. 2021 has been led by the Turkish Land Forces. The VJTF places thousands of soldiers on standby, ready to deploy within days and forms the spearhead force of the much larger NATO Response Force (NRF).
"Noble Jump provides a great opportunity for NATO’s spearhead response force to demonstrate its ability to rapidly deploy to areas of crisis,” said Captain Jason Salata, exercise spokesperson. "It is a clear demonstration of the will and intent of NATO members to defend each other from threats wherever they might emerge."
Exercise Noble Jump 2021 puts the deployment preparations and Turkey’s 66th Mechanised Infantry Brigade, which provides the bulk of the force, to the test. Turkey has made substantial investments in the unit and it is amongst the most mobile in NATO. The unit operates the latest models of Turkish armoured vehicles, anti-tank missiles and howitzers.
Turkish Land Forces 66th Mechanised Infantry Brigade armored vehicle Vuran, on the Exercise Area in Cincu, Romania takes part in Exercise Steadfast Defender 2021.- NATO Photo by NATO Media Information Centre
The exercise began on May 19 when NATO directed the VJTF to move from Turkey through Bulgaria and finally into Romania. It will conclude on June 2.
Each year, Noble Jump exercises allow NATO to practice military mobility by moving troops throughout Europe to a location where a variety of training events take place. Noble Jump 2021 will include force integration training, live fire events and a Joint Allied Power Demonstration Day. Noble Jump last took place in Poland in 2019, but has also previously been held in Romania.
This long-planned exercise relies upon close Allied cooperation to ensure that safe and appropriate COVID-19 measures are in place to protect the health of the force and our hosts. The Turkish, Romanian and Bulgarian governments carefully coordinated the troop movements to ensure proper passage of the Force through Allied nations whilst adhering to COVID-19 preventative measures.
Noble Jump 2021 takes place under the umbrella of the larger Steadfast Defender 2021, which is NATO’s flagship multi-domain exercise this year. Steadfast Defender 2021 is designed to test strategic reinforcement across the Atlantic Ocean, our forces mobility across European nations and the VJTF’s rapid reaction capabilities.