More than 2,300 paratroopers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, along with more than 2,100 allied and partner forces from 10 nations, are participating in Exercise Saber Junction 26 at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. The rotation, overseen by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, is designed to validate warfighting readiness, strengthen NATO interoperability, and prepare forces for large-scale combat operations.
The exercise tests the brigade's ability to rapidly deploy, conduct joint forcible entry, execute offensive and defensive operations, and regenerate combat power in a contested environment. It incorporates lessons learned from ongoing conflicts, including electronic warfare, unmanned aerial systems, dispersed maneuver and contested communications.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade is showcasing modernization efforts through its bayonet innovation team, an internal innovation cell comprised of paratroopers, engineers, warrant officers and technical specialists. The team designs, builds and fields low-cost technologies including first-person view drones, intelligence and surveillance reconnaissance platforms, ground robots and artificial intelligence-enabled tools. The facility can produce drones in-house and integrates lessons from Ukraine and multinational exercises to help the brigade adapt rapidly.
"Saber Junction is where our soldiers and our allies prove they are ready for the demands of modern war," said Army Maj. Gen. Matthew W. Brown, Southern European Task Force, Africa commander. "This rotation is a crucible event — designed to expose gaps, accelerate learning and ensure that formations are trained and lethal."
Exercise Saber Junction 26 includes participants from Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, and the United States.