Joint military exercises involving about 4,000 troops from 15 allied and partner countries, including the United States, have kicked off in Georgia.
The exercises are being staged at five training locations in Georgia and are scheduled to run from July 26 to August 6, a U.S. Army statement said.
The opening ceremony for Agile Spirit took place at Senaki Air Base. A ceremony at the conclusion of the exercises is scheduled for August 6 at the Orpholo training area. Other staging areas include the Vaziani training area and the Vaziani Military Airport.
It is the 10th Agile Spirit exercise, which aims to strengthen regional security cooperation and increase interoperability among the military forces participating.
“Agile Spirit 2021 enhances U.S., Georgian, allied, and regional partner forces’ readiness and interoperability in a realistic training environment,” the statement said.
The exercises were first conducted in Georgia in 2011 and have taken place annually with both U.S. and Georgian military forces.
About 1,600 of the 4,000 troops taking part this year are from the Georgian defense forces and about 700 are U.S. military personnel.
This year is the first in which a combined multinational airborne operation with participation from Georgia, the United Kingdom, and Poland is taking place.
Special operation forces from Georgia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Romania, and Poland are also performing combined operations together for the first time at the Sorta training area.
Other participating countries include Germany, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Spain, Ukraine, Canada, and Italy.
