US to conduct exercise with troops from 26 nations starting April 22

Nearly 9,000 US troops, around 17,000 troops from 26 partner nations will participate, says deputy Pentagon spokeswoman

US troops will conduct a military exercise with 17,000 soldiers from 26 countries beginning on April 22, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

“This annual, nearly two-month long exercise is focused on the strategic deployment of US-based forces, employment of Army pre-positioned stocks and interoperability with European allies and partners,” deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said at a briefing.

“Approximately 9,000 US troops and about 17,000 troops from 26 Allied and partner nations will participate. And portions of the exercise will stretch across 10 different European countries,” she added.

Singh said equipment to support the exercise began arriving this week in Spain, adding about 7,000 pieces of equipment were shipped to the European theater from the US.

The Defender 23 exercise is led by US Army Europe and Africa and has been planned since 2021.