The sovereign state must be ready for any threat, says Brig. Gen. Rafał Miernik. We are talking with the Head of the Management Board of Training SGWP about “The Iron Defender”, the largest exercises of the Polish Army this year, which will be held in parallel with the Russian-Belarusian maneuvers “Zapad ’25”. What will our army show, and what message does it send the east neighbors?
Brig-Gen Rafał Meernik
General, the Polish Army is preparing for the Iron Defender. However, it will not be 1 exercise, but the full federation.
Yes, the “Iron Defender” is simply a full conglomerate of closely related exercises. They will be conducted in all domains – at sea, land, air, and cyberspace. A full of 30 exercises will be supervised by the General Staff of the Polish Army, and the General Command of Types of Armed Forces will be liable for conducting them.
And it will be the biggest action of this kind of Polish Army this year.
Indeed, it is the largest and most crucial of the planned training projects of the Armed Forces of Poland in 2025, that the tasks during the Iron Defender will be carried out by a full of about 30 1000 soldiers. The 18th Mechanized Division will direct the top forces to action, which will operate on a training ground in Orzysz. But the military will besides practice in the mouth and fresh Oak.
And what is the intent of this exercise? What do you want me to prove, check the Iron Defender?
As far as land activities are concerned, we will primarily measure the interaction of air defence systems and the operation of armoured, mechanized and aeromobile divisions, and above all, the investigating of fresh equipment. The aim is to check to what degree in the Polish Army the Abrams tanks, cannonhaubice K9, unmanned search systems Gladius or the lobster-K and lobster-A rocket launchers have been implemented.
In the airspace, the aviation of air forces and ground troops, both Polish and allied, will operate.
An crucial aspect of the exercise will besides be the assessment of the capabilities of unmanned platforms, not only aircraft but besides land platforms, which are not implemented in the armed forces, but due to the rapidly changing safety situation, stay in our interest.
Does this mean that the “Iron Defender” will besides be experimental exercises?
Within the training federation, innovative method solutions will be tested by manufacturers, which can be applied in the activities of the National Fear and defence Programme “Tarcza East”. We plan to test selected unmanned aircraft, unmanned land platforms, reconnaissance systems and more.
What about the youngest kind of armed forces, or territorial defence troops?
Of course, the territorialists will besides be involved. At the camp in Nowa Dęba, they will conduct the firestorm exercises. This will be a test for them on the implementation of different scenarios during both combat and crisis actions. peculiar attention will be paid to WOT's cooperation with operating troops, including in the field of operational preparation of the site, infrastructure or the usage of unmanned workers.
Were allies invited to act during the Iron Defender?
Of course, the national nature of the exercise does not hinder the improvement of cooperation with soldiers of another armies. Gen. Wiesław Kukuła, head of the SGWP, made certain that the military from the United States, Sweden and Norway operate together with the Polish Army. An crucial function during the Iron Defender will besides be played by the 1st Armour Division, which is part of the 5th US Army Corps, which will then conduct a separate command-and-seat exercise of the Iron Fist.
What precisely scenarios will soldiers carry out? Are they based on the conclusions of the war in Ukraine?
The script of the exercise is prepared to match the real situation as much as possible. For reasons of state safety and safety of classified information, we cannot discuss details. The conclusions and experience of the war in Ukraine have been included in the improvement of scenarios for exercises and this is an crucial aspect of the exercise at tactical level.
The Autumn Fire will begin in early September. The Russian-Belarusian “Zapad” maneuvers will besides take place. Isn't that a coincidence?
Each sovereign state has the right to keep all safety instruments ready. The fact that specified exercises take place close our border is nothing new. The “Fad” maneuvers are held annually.
However, this does not change the fact that our training activities under the Iron Defender are intended not only to strengthen Poland's and NATO's defence capabilities, but besides to show the readiness to defend together and deter possible opponents, in the context of current geopolitical challenges.
