NATO Starts Military Exercise in Romania: DACIAN Spring 2025

The Dacian Spring 2025 military exercise marks a significant moment for NATO’s presence and preparedness on its eastern flank. Scheduled to take place in Romania from May 5 to May 23, this large-scale exercise will bring together almost 4,000 military personnel and over 900 pieces of equipment from ten allied countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, and Romania.

Purpose and Strategic Importance

Dacian Spring 2025 is designed to test and enhance the rapid deployment capabilities of NATO forces in the region. The primary objective is to develop and practice collective defensive operations, ensuring that participating forces can integrate seamlessly into a unified command and control structure. This exercise is particularly relevant in the current security environment in Eastern Europe, where the ability to respond swiftly to emerging threats is a top priority for the alliance.

The exercise will be led by the Multinational Division South-East (MND-SE) and will involve complex training scenarios across seven different military ranges in Romania. These activities will include tactical movements, live-fire drills, parachute jumps, river crossings, encrypted communications, and coordinating transit through various border checkpoints. Such comprehensive training is crucial for enhancing interoperability, reaction times, and military mobility among NATO allies.

French Leadership and Mobility Challenges

France, as the framework nation for the NATO Battle Group stationed at Cincu, will play a central role in Dacian Spring 2025. Around 4,000 French troops are expected to deploy with their equipment, underscoring France’s commitment to NATO’s collective defence. The French military aims to demonstrate its ability to move a combat brigade of 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers to Romania within ten days—a crucial capability in the event of a crisis.

A key challenge highlighted by French commanders is the need to improve military mobility across Europe. Unlike civilian travel, the movement of troops and heavy equipment across borders faces bureaucratic and logistical hurdles. The experience of previous deployments, particularly in 2022, revealed delays caused by customs procedures and inadequate transport infrastructure. Addressing these obstacles is a primary focus for both the exercise and broader NATO planning.

Dacian Spring 2025 is part of a wider series of multinational exercises taking place in Romania throughout the first half of the year. These include other major drills such as Dacia 25, Steadfast Dart 25, Sea Shield 25, and Saber Guardian 25. Collectively, these exercises will involve approximately 15,000 soldiers and are intended to strengthen cooperation within NATO and the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership.

The exercises serve as a strategic signal to potential adversaries, demonstrating the alliance’s unity, readiness, and ability to reinforce its eastern members rapidly. By 2027, NATO expects France to be capable of deploying a whole division, comprising up to 25,000 soldiers, within 30 days, further intensifying the stakes for military readiness and cooperation.

The timing of Dacian Spring 2025 has been influenced by Romania’s domestic political calendar, particularly the presidential elections. Adjustments to the exercise schedule have been made to accommodate these events, reflecting the need for flexibility in multinational military planning.

Dacian Spring 2025 stands as a pivotal exercise for NATO, Romania, and their allies, reinforcing the alliance’s commitment to collective defence and rapid response. The lessons learned from this exercise will shape future military mobility, interoperability, and readiness across Europe, ensuring that NATO remains prepared for any contingency on its eastern borders.