Hundreds of Army vehicles shipped to Romania for NATO exercise

Soldier in camouflage uniform is seen walking between lined up vehicles while wearing a hi vis jacket and a hard hat checking vehicles over before transportation.

Hundreds of British Army vehicles have rolled onto cargo ships ready to be transported to Romania for the first deployment of NATO’s Allied Reaction Force.

A total of 730 vehicles were last week loaded on to three roll-on/roll-off ships at the Sea Mounting Centre in Marchwood, Hampshire ahead of Exercise Steadfast Dart 25.

The aim of the exercise is to practice a major deployment of land, sea and air forces across Europe. It will demonstrate NATO’s ability to mobilise at speed across the continent.

Foxhound patrol vehicles, Jackal high mobility weapons platform vehicles, Mastiff armoured patrol vehicles as well as fuel tankers and forklift trucks were loaded last Thursday onto MV Hurst Point headed for the Greek port of Alexandroupoli.

Exercise Steadfast Dart marks the first deployment of NATO’s new Allied Reaction Force (ARF), made up of troops held at high readiness who can respond swiftly and effectively to deal with any threat during peacetime, crisis and conflict.

Around 2,500 UK personnel will travel by truck and plane to Romania as the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland deploy for the exercise.

The two regiments, part of 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team – known as The Desert Rats, will form the main battlegroup supported by other UK forces and representatives from eight other NATO nations.

The UK’s 102 Operational Sustainment Brigade will provide the logistical element of the NATO exercise, transporting troops and equipment to Romania.

"There are a lot of different moving parts, but we really want to test ourselves and demonstrate the credibility and resilience of UK armed forces to NATO. We are excited to get on with it and get out there."

Colonel Jim Beere, Deputy Chief of Staff of 1st (UK) Division"

Colonel Jim Beere, Deputy Chief of Staff of 1st (UK) Division which is commanding the land component, said:

“This is significant for the UK, as this is the first ever time the Allied Reaction Force has deployed, and the UK is providing the Army or land component of the deployment.”

NATO vehicles and troops will travel by sea, road, rail and air for the 2,300km journey to and from Romania to test the Alliance’s ability to deploy under pressure.

Colonel Beere added: “We have created some of our own challenges through the mechanism of our deployment on purpose because this really is a test of the UK’s, and NATO’s, ability to deploy at very high readiness in response to crisis.

“So, we are employing sea, land, air and rail mechanisms which creates friction when you are travelling across multiple countries in Europe. There are a lot of different moving parts, but we really want to test ourselves and demonstrate the credibility and resilience of UK armed forces to NATO. We are excited to get on with it and get out there.”

"Not only will Exercise Steadfast Dart be a good demonstration of what the Allied Reaction Force can do but we’re going to learn a lot of lessons. It will shape the evolution of NATO, how it operates and how the ARF operates over the next few years."

Lieutenant Colonel Joe Didomenico, US exchange officer 1st (UK) Division"

Lieutenant Colonel Joe Didomenico, US exchange officer 1st (UK) Division, said:

“Not only will Exercise Steadfast Dart be a good demonstration of what the Allied Reaction Force can do but we’re going to learn a lot of lessons. It will shape the evolution of NATO, how it operates and how the ARF operates over the next few years.

“It’s been pretty impressive to be completely integrated into a British Army division and see how they do things. I’m learning a lot, especially just being down here at the port and seeing how port operations go for a light mechanised brigade because I’m an armoured officer by trade so this has piqued my interest. It’s been very efficient.”

Corporal James Hartley, 17 Port & Maritime Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, said: “For us it is a day-to-day job but with this larger scale, it’s a lot more vehicles, a lot more movements, it’s quite challenging but we get the job done.”

The coming weeks will see Germany host elements of the British Army’s contribution to Exercise Steadfast Dart as troops, vehicles and equipment transit through Germany to their final destinations. Whilst in Germany, these forces will operate under the NATO SOFA – Supplementary Agreement enabled by the Germany Enabling Office (GEO). This agreement enables the GEO, as Defence’s Highest Service Authority in Germany, to request and obtain host nation support to facilitate the arrival, staging and onward deployment by road, rail and sea.

The deployment will use several convoy support centres hosted within Bundeswehr (German armed forces) locations and civilian companies to provide bulk-fuel and re-fuelling, feeding, sleeping and rest areas as well as offices and communications capabilities for a deployed HQ and dedicated recovery areas. 

Lieutenant Colonel Tony Maw MBE, Officer Commanding/UK Head of Mission Germany Enabling Office, said:

“We continue to be extremely fortunate as a signatory to the Supplementary Agreement to be able to consider the Sovereign State of Germany as a Global Strategic hub through which we have the ability to utilise the Articles with the Agreement in the same manner as the other signatory nations.”

Earlier this month, Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard MP, said:

“This Government wants the UK to be NATO’s leading European nation.

“Exercise Steadfast Dart demonstrates our unshakeable commitment to NATO and highlights the UK’s key leadership role in the alliance.

“As we approach the three-year anniversary of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we must continue to strengthen our collective defences together to deter Putin effectively.”