In Georgia, military exercises involve American howitzers for the first time

The multinational NATO military exercises "Agile Spirit", which were completed in Georgia on September 9, involved the new US military equipment. This was reported by the Georgian General Headquarters. According to the experts, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot", the military exercises mostly included training of defensive tactics.

On September 1, the military exercises "2016 Agile Spirit" were started at military training grounds "Orpolo" and "Vaziani". They were attended by about 1200 soldiers and officers from Georgia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania, Ukraine, and the United States, reports Vakhtang Kapanadze, the chief of the General Headquarters of the Georgian Armed Forces.

The military exercises involved the military equipment of Georgia, Romania, and the United States, including four US armoured LAV-25 vehicles, 14 Hammer light-armoured vehicles, and four 120-millimetre howitzers.

According to Colonel Malkhaz Makaradze, the chief commander of the military exercise, the main purpose of the military exercises was to secure interaction with partners and synchronization of tactics used by NATO countries.

For the first time, the military exercises of the two opposing forces NATO and Russia were held in close proximity, reports Irakli Aladashvili, the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Arsenali".

NATO is increasing its presence in Georgia, and one of the main tasks was to work out the timing of arrival of troops to Georgia from NATO military bases, notes Giorgi Tevzadze, an expert on military matters, Professor of the Ilia State University.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.