Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson highlighted that Joint Warrior 18 is designed to train international allies to meet growing global insecurity. Williamson said:

Joint Warrior prepares our troops in the best way to meet the intensifying threats our country faces by providing a major opportunity to exercise with our allies.

 Our Armed Forces are the face of global Britain, and training side by side with troops from 16 other nations means we are stronger and more capable when it comes to keeping our countries safe and protecting our way of life.

Joint Warrior 18 Training Scenarios

The bi-annual exercise is running from the 21st April to 3rd May, and incorporates all three UK services as well as forces from 16 other nations including Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the US.

Linked to the NATO exercise programme and open to Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Partner Nations, Joint Warrior 18 also hosts non-NATO partners such as Australia, Finland and Sweden. This year the training scenarios involve multiple sovereign nations disputing resources and territories; counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling activity; information warfare; and evacuation operations.

Joitn Warrior 18 will provide NATO allies and partner nations the opportunity to train together across air, land, sea and cyber domains, practicing “high-end” war-fighting between near-peer adversaries.

One of the organisers of Joint Warrior 18, Captain Joint Tactical Exercise Planning Staff, Captain Paul Pitcher RN, said:

This exercise gives the UK participants a chance to train with our allies and partners, honing our skills and developing our tactics. It is hugely important in making sure that we can fuse all elements of our capabilities, enhancing our ability to conduct joint operations now and in the future.

Exercise Joint Warrior Area of Operations (OSCE, 2018)

Confirmed Participants in Joint Warrior 18

Confirmed US military forces taking part in Joint Warrior 18 include 4th ANGLICO of the US Marine Corps and the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71). Other military units include the British Army’s 3 PARA and 59 Commando Engineer Squadron, as well as 40 Commando, Royal Marines.

Joint Warrior 18 Finale on Salisbury Plain

Joint Warrior 18 will culminate on Salisbury Plain Training Area on the 3rd May in which JEF forces, including troops from the UK Parachute Regiment, the Danish Jutland Dragoon Regiment, the Lithuanian “Iron Wolf” Brigade and the Latvian Mechanised Infantry Brigade, will conduct urban combat operations with air support provided by Apaches, Chinooks, Wildcats and Tornados.

2018 Exercise Restricted to Spring Event

Previous Joint Warrior exercises have included spring and autumn components. This year, Joint Warrior 18 will only take place in the spring season due to other commitments. Several major military exercises are planned for later this year, including Saif Sareea 3 in Oman with 6,000 personnel and multiple Royal Navy assets and Trident Juncture in Scandinavia, also involving Royal Navy forces.

Source: MOD.

Image: Royal Navy HMS Illustrious, US AH60 helicopters on Deck Landing Practice during Exercise Joint Warrior 12 (Crown Copyright, 2012).