Croatian Soldiers Operate An Air Defense Vehicle [Image 2 of 3]

PULA, CROATIA

04.21.2023

Photo by Sgt. Mariah Gonzalez 

173rd Airborne Brigade

A Croatian soldier with the Croatian Air Defense Regiment prepares to engage targets from a BOV-3 armored air defense vehicle as part of Exercise Shield 23, April 21, 2023, in Pula, Croatia.

Exercise Shield is an annual Croatian air defense exercise that aims at strengthening the execution of air defense tactics against low and medium altitude moving aerial threats. During the exercise, units from the United States, Croatia, Poland, and Slovenia collectively train on air defense and electronic warfare tactics, techniques and procedures, including air-space control, synchronization, surveillance, threat detection and live fire engagements against flying objects. The exercise strengthens air defense interoperability between NATO allies by combining multiple air defense platforms in the same area of operations.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States European, African, and Central Command areas of responsibility. Forward deployed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build partnerships and strengthen the alliance.

U.S. Army photograph by Sgt. Mariah Y. Gonzalez

• Date Taken: 04.21.2023
• Date Posted: 04.25.2023 03:45
• Photo ID: 7759450
• VIRIN: 230421-A-GT094-508
• Resolution: 2048x1365
• Size: 369.27 KB
• Location: PULA, HR