SwiftResponse

SWIFT RESPONSE

Swift Response 25 demonstrates multinational power projection and the expansion of critical capabilities on the battlefield in the High North and Baltics through airborne jumps and integration of technology in support of the Army Modernization Strategy and DoD Arctic Strategy. Swift Response 25 involves five near-simultaneous airborne insertions, HIRAIN training, a field hospital exercise and live fires conducted with NATO networks in Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden and Finland from May 11 – 31, 2025.

Videos

Video by Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace

Marines have 'Eye' in Idaho Sky

366th Fighter Wing

Oct. 22, 2013 | 1:46

Two Marines with the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) demonstrated the capabilities of the RQ-11B Raven unmanned aerial system during a Mountain Roundup exercise Oct. 9, at the Saylor Creek Range.

The Raven is a small, hand-launched, remote-controlled system which provides day and night real-time video imagery, reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition.

"The Raven is used for taking photos and video of enemy positions," said Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas Thompson, 1st ANGLICO forward observer from Clinton, Iowa. "We can easily fly it into places where the enemy may or may not be, in order to gather strategic reconnaissance information."

The smallest of ANGLICO's unmanned aerial systems, the Raven has a wingspan of four feet-six inches, weighs four pounds, has a flight endurance of 60-90 minutes and an effective operational radius of approximately 6.2 miles.

"We utilize the Raven system as a tool to keep Marines and our coalition partners safe," said Marine Lance Cpl. William Thornton, 1st ANGLICO forward observer from San Bernardino, Calif. "With this device there isn't a need to send a squad into an unknown area. They could potentially walk into a trap or spend large amounts of time getting to the objective point, only to find zero enemy intelligence."

During their last deployment, Marines assigned to 1st ANGLICO worked with the British Army, Afghan National Army, and several other units from various nations.

"As 1st ANGLICO, we are attached to other units regularly and we utilize the Raven as a way for us to keep those fire-teams safe and give them as much information as possible," said Thornton. "It's a stealthy, reconnaissance tool which, when used correctly, can assist in bringing everyone home safe and ultimately winning the battle."
One key factor of the Raven's tactical usefulness is how quickly it can be put together and then operated.

"One of the main reasons why it's such a valuable asset is because two Marines can assemble and then operate it within 10 minutes," said Thornton. "Once it's in the air, we immediately begin tracking enemy movements and relaying enemy locations. We pull the video feed into the combat operations center and are able to keep leadership up-to-date on friendly and enemy grid locations as well as targeting information. The Raven is so incredibly stealthy that many times the enemy doesn't realize it's even there."

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What is happening where?

Italy
Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade will depart from Italy to conduct an airborne drop into Lithuania.
Finland
The Finnish Army will conduct a live fire exercise with the Polish Armed Forces and U.S. Forces will fire HIMARS also known as HIRAIN training.

Polish paratroopers will conduct an airborne jump into Finland, where they will join the Finnish Army to conduct force on force training.
Latvia

In Latvia, paratroopers from Spanish Airborne Brigade and 173rd Airborne Brigade will conduct an airborne jump into Latvia and a live-fire exercises will follow .

Also, the Latvian national exercise, Crystal Arrow, will be conducted simultaneously with Swift Response 25.
Lithuania

In Lithuania, there will be a Field hospital exercise and medical operations. A U.S.-based blood support detachment will deploy to Europe, where they will be issued Army Prepositioned Stock and join the 512th Field Hospital in Lithuania. The exercise will demonstrate theater medical support operations while working under chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear conditions. The field hospital exercise will also include a simulated blood draw and resupply to forward positioned medical teams using drones.

Paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade will conduct an airborne assault into Lithuania alongside NATO Allies from France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.

The Lithuanian national exercise Iron Wolf will be linked with Swift Response 25 events with participants from the Netherlands, Lithuania and Germany.
Norway
As part of Swift Response 25, paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division will deploy from the U.S. and conduct
a direct airborne jump into Norway in the first major event commencing DEFENDER 25. This event is one of five,
near-simultaneous airborne operations that will be taking place in Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden.

Also U.S. and Host Nation will conduct Live-fires in Norway.
Sweden

NATO Allies will conduct an airborne jump into Gotland Island, setting the stage for U.S. Marines to conduct a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Rapid Insertion (HIRAIN) training on the island.
United Kingdom
Troops moving from United Kingdom to Norway and Sweden.

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