It was just the preparations. The ships loaded with armaments and military vehicles at the port channel of Cagliari, the convoys that traveled day and night between the capital and Sulcis, with destination Capo Teulada firing range: "simple" transfers, in view of the gigantic NATO exercise , the Noble Jump, which is about to go live.
This was communicated by the allied command of Naples, which coordinates the operations related to the war simulation that will take place on the land and in the sea of Sardinia.
«The forces deployed», reads the note, «will operate on various military scenarios until 13 May. On Friday the 12th participants will join forces in a joint Allied Powers live-fire demonstration day, displaying their skills and readiness to protect and defend Allied territory, wherever and whenever needed. And it will be the grand finale with a bang.
Meanwhile, it becomes known that, among the various heavy pieces deployed on the field there are Leopard 2, self-propelled howitzers (known as ́Panzerhaubitze 2000), infantry fighting vehicles, Tiger attack helicopters and Stinger anti-aircraft systems. In total, almost three thousand men are deployed (armies of Germany, Holland, Norway, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Belgium and Latvia) and about 500 vehicles.
The giant Ukrainian-made Antonov An 124-100 transport aircraft , the largest in the world, was used to transport the Tigers: a colossus of the skies that shuttled between Germany and the Decimomannu Air Force base. NATO once again showed the operations on the ground, with a video posted on Youtube.
Nobel Jump goes live next week. But that's not all: Joint Stars 2023 will also begin on Monday: "Over 4,000 men and women and about 900 land, air and naval vehicles will operate on the ground", the Ministry of Defense said, "The goal is to train units and assets of the national Armed Forces for defense operations of the national territory and of the Alliance, but not only». Not only that, indeed.