British troops take part in Exercise Black Eagle

The British Army is taking part in Exercise Black Eagle in the Zagan Training area in south-west Poland as part of the largest armoured deployment to Eastern Europe for 6 years.

Exercise Black Eagle includes live-firing, and is designed to help the armed forces of the UK and Poland operate more effectively together.

The King’s Royal Hussars Battlegroup is taking part in the exercise, working alongside the 1st Polish Tank Battalion, which is under the command of the 10th Polish Armoured Cavalry Brigade.

Exercise Black Eagle is an example of the new configuration of the British Army after Army 2020. The exercise also provides an opportunity for the UK to demonstrate its support to NATO reassurance measures, including deployment of RAF Typhoon aircraft to the Baltic air policing mission; and the deployment of HMS Montrose off the Danish coast for the multi-national Baltic operations exercise in June.

Further NATO deployments are expected to take place over the next 2 years.

Michael Fallon, Defence Secretary, said: ‘Exercise Black Eagle has been a great success on several fronts. It has proved that the army has the agility needed to cope with the demands of the 21st century.

‘It clearly demonstrates the strength of our relationship with the Polish armed forces. And it is a clear signal to our allies in NATO that we stand up to our obligations and will continue to do so.’