MILEX23: EU carries out first military live exercise in Cádiz
From 16 to 22 October, the EU will carry out its first-ever live exercise from the Rota Naval Base located in Cádiz, Spain. On 17 October, the High Representative will participate in a demonstration of the exercise.
He will hold a press conference at ca. 09:15, which will be broadcast live on EbS. During the visit, High Representative Borrell will be accompanied by the Chair of the EU Military Committee, General Robert Brieger, and the Spanish Chief of Defence, Admiral General Teodoro E. López Calderón.
The same day, High Representative Borrell will address the EU Military Committee at Chiefs of Defence level that will convene in Sevilla.
Approximately 2,800 personnel from Member States will simulate the initial phase of a stabilisation operation, involving the Spanish amphibious assault ship ‘Juan Carlos I’, leading an amphibious task group comprising 31 units including maritime, air, land, space and cyber assets.
Over the coming week, Member States’ armed forces will train their capability to act as a credible global security provider, as underlined in the Strategic Compass. The outline of the exercise will involve the preparation for the operation, an amphibious assault, securing and controlling the Seaport of Debarkation followed by the insertion of land enablers to ensure a safe and secure environment.
Background
The EU is moving at full speed with the implementation of the Strategic Compass at all levels. This includes the first-ever EU live exercise. The LIVEX is a crucial step in the preparation of the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity (EU RDC) – a key instrument that will increase the EU’s ability to act rapidly and robustly in response to crises by mobilising the necessary Member States’ capabilities in a coordinated manner.
The LIVEX also represents the EU’s need for common training and exercises of its personnel to test and validate its concepts, procedures and tactics. Similarly, together with future LIVEX, it is a step further to reach full operational capability of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) by 2025, which should become the EU’s preferred command and control structure, including for the EU RDC.