French Army Conducts Tank Maneuvers in Romania

French Leclerc tanks and heavy guns exercise in Romania in an exercise called EAGLE MEDA 23. The military exercise is to end on January 27, as the Romanian Ministry of Defense communicated.

Approximately 600 French soldiers and 200 military vehicles from the Battle Group deployed in Romania (ROU BG – FRAN FN), with France as the framework nation and the French national support element, carry out, between January 23 and 27, the firing exercise combat vehicle “EAGLE MEDA 23”, at the Secondary Combat Training Center of the Romanian Land Forces, in the town of Smârdan, Galați county.

The primary purpose of the exercise is to train the forces of the Battle Group on the rapid deployment capability and execution of a combat mission, in a fictitious scenario, within a NATO – Collective Defense operation, under Article 5, conducted on the southern flank – east of the Alliance. During the exercise, combat firing is also performed with the Group’s primary striking means, the Leclerc tanks.

The context of this military exercise is rather interesting: Ukraine has just been promised allied tanks, especially German Leopard and American Abrams. Supposedly, these tanks will be deployed in 2-3 months. Meanwhile, tanks maneuver in Romania and the French militaries prepare for various scenarios.