Dynamic Front 23:Drills Prepare NATO Artillery for Crisis or Conflict

The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps announced that,working to the US Army 56th Artillery Command,it will be conducting Exercise Dynamic Front 23 from 13-31 March 2023 at Oksbol,Denmark,with concurrent drills for other formations at Grafenwoehr Training Area,Germany.More than 1700 military personnel from 18 NATO Allies and Partners will participate,including:Bulgaria,Czech Republic,Denmark,France,Greece,Georgia,Germany,Italy,Kosovo,Lithuania,Poland,Romania,Slovakia,Spain,Turkiye and the US.Dynamic Front will launch a training mission of synchronised command and fires planning,manoeuvring through a complex landscape of assembly area operations,artillery acumen,and live firing drills.The objective is to ensure that NATO forces are equipped with the capability to execute lethal fire support in wide-area ground combat across Europe.Said 56th Artillery Command commanding general Major General Stephan Maranian,US Army:With 18 nations participating,it will include artillery,air and naval gunfire with participants arrayed from Denmark in the north to Romania in the south.This year's exercise will extend our logisitics chains and exercise our communications systems,collectively demonstrating that our Alliance stands ready for any challenge,anywhere,at any time.* Promoting understanding,collaboration and interoperability,Dynamic Front 23 contributes significantly to regional stability and security by improving the ability of Alliance forces to operate effectively together in times of crisis or conflict,ARRC Public Affairs explained.* Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) provides NATO with a rapidly deployable,flexible HQ that can act as a Joint,Land or Corps HQ for operations or crisis response.Its multinational ethos,combination of cultures and innovation,strong professional reputation in NATO and proven track record in interoperability are unique among its High Readiness Force (Land) HRF(L) peers.HQ ARRC grew out of its antecedant,1st (British) Corps.Today it is based at Imjin Barracks,Gloucester,UK,and is the UK's largest deployable Land HQ.Unlike other HRF(L)s,it falls under the direct Operational Command of Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) during peacetime.About 60% of HQ ARRC's staff is drawn from the framework nation,the United Kingdom,but the organisation is fully multinational in nature and organisation,with 21 NATO and Partner Nations contributing personnel.HQ ARRC is prepared to deploy as a Corps HQ;a Land Component HQ;or a Theatre-level Joint Task Force HQ in order to meet NATO,EU,national or multinational requirements.Commander of HQ ARRC is Lieutenant General Nicholas R M Borton,British Army,DSO,MBE.* HQ ARRC is supported by 1st (UK) Signal Brigade's ARRC Support Battalion,providing a bespoke and resilient staff working environment,which can be deployed anywhere in the world at short notice to allow the ARRL to carry out its command role in any type of conflict.

NATO'S Artillery Drills of the Year:Dynamic Front 22

NATO Exercise Dynamic Front 22 has run from 6-24 July 2022 at the Grafenwoehr Training Area,Germany.Participting in the premier artillery drills were some 3,000 troops from 19 Allied and Partner nations:Bulgaria,Czech Republic,Estonia,Finland,France,Germany,Georgia,Greece,Italy,Kosovo,Poland,Romania,Slovakia,Slovenia,Spain,Turkey,the UK and the US.DF 22 aimed to improve NATO Allies' and Partners' ability to execute multi-echelon fires,as well as tests interoperability of both tactical and theatre-level fires in a live environment.It was led by the US Army's 56th Artillery Command and directed by U.S. Army Europe and Africa.* DF 22 was based on Artillery Systems Cooperation Activities (ASCA) software.The software creates one consistent line of communication digitally,linking artillery Command and Control systems in real time,nullifying language and speeding up signals.The exercise allows for controlled access throughout NATO'S operations systems,thus unifying and strengthening the joint force.Working together,the Allies and Partners display their capabilities in multi-echelon fires,deploying together,connecting on the same network and communicating with the same software as they develop solutions for strategic and tactical fires interoperability.ASCA takes fires data from one Ally and translates between the different Allied fires systems.In DF 22,Allies processed fires missions from a NATO Corps down to the tactical level.Connected fires contribute to the ability to deter any threat to NATO.ASCA enables delivering massed fires onto a given location.* German Bundeswehr Soldiers of Artillerie Bataillon 131 used Panzer 2000 self-propelled howitzers.To fire them,they dismounted from the tracked vehicles and pulled a lanyard to discharge the ammunition.Finnish troops participated mainly in an observer capacity,gathering information as to how they might contribute to further iterations of Dynamic Front.