00:00NATO's paratroopers carried out a high-profile airborne operation near the Belarus border
00:12in Latvia on Friday, May 16, as part of Swift Response 25 military drills aimed at showcasing
00:20the Alliance's readiness to defend its eastern flank.
00:24The exercise involved Spanish Army Airbus, a 400M aircraft, dropping cargo and paratroopers
00:30in Dagavpils in southeastern Latvia, close to the country's border with Belarus.
00:36Latvian National Guard 3rd Brigade Commander Gunars Vizulis said the exercises were NATO's
00:41message and assurance that they were ready to defend their country.
00:44The Swift Response exercises cover not only airborne operations but also involve medical
00:51operations and significant training for medical personnel.
00:55We are on the eastern border.
00:57We are on the border with our unfriendly neighbors.
01:00These exercises are both our assurance and our message to our own community, the NATO community,
01:06and our neighbors.
01:07We are ready to defend our land.
01:09And this land will be defended not only by Latvian soldiers but also by NATO soldiers who are located
01:15quite far away.
01:17The, obviously, you know, it's pretty exciting for all of us, you know, to move very far from
01:24home and, you know, to be able to perform an airborne assault, whatever we are called.
01:30Swift Response 25, a multinational exercise, is part of NATO's larger Defender 25, focusing
01:37on airborne operations, rapid infiltration, and multi-domain capabilities.
01:42The exercise includes five nearly simultaneous airborne insertions and high-rain, high-mobility
01:48artillery rocket system rapid infiltration, training across several countries including
01:53Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, and Finland from May 11th to 31st, 2025.
02:01you
02:12and
02:12you
02:14and
02:16you
02:26can we go?
02:28yes
02:30yes
02:32yes
02:34and
02:36the
02:38this
02:40is
02:42I
02:44I
02:46I
02:48I
02:50have
02:52We'll see you next time.
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