This is the moment hundreds of British paratroopers deployed behind enemy lines into Germany, during one of their biggest drops since the Second World War.
Around 600 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (3 Para) then dug in and battled a force armed with drones, marking the end of a seven-week war games to prepare them for Vladimir Putin’s troops.
Plunging 800ft from four RAF A400M Atlas transport planes, 3 Para was joined on the exercise, dubbed Rhino Titan, by around 100 soldiers from a French marine parachute regiment, and hosted by German troops at the Sennelager Training Centre.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘The threats we face in the 21st century require an updated, modern approach to warfare – and our adaptable Armed Forces are preparing accordingly.
‘Alongside our French and German allies, this large-scale training exercise shows we can deliver rapid, large-scale airborne power anywhere it’s needed to defend Nato territory. This combination of troops and specialised equipment is what is required to keep Britain and our allies safe.’
Putin’s army has been embroiled in an attritional four-year war with Ukraine that has seen his forces suffer 1.5 million casualties, including 500,000 killed. But despite the losses, military leaders remain concerned Russia still poses a major threat to Europe and could attack before the end of the decade.
Hundreds of British paratroopers have parachuted behind enemy lines into Germany, during one of their biggest drops since the Second World War (Pictured: French and British Paratroopers jump from RAF A400’s)
Around 600 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment battled a force armed with drones (Pictured: Pathfinders communicate with the RAF)
The paratroopers’ mission was to effectively act as a blocking force to prevent further invaders from breaching Nato territory
Earlier this month, Nato’s top commander US General Alexus Grynkewich vowed to ‘block’ and ‘blunt’ any attack on the alliance.
Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, he said: ‘Our alliance exists to preserve peace but let there be no doubt: should war come, we will block, blunt any attack, and then, if it does not cease, we will break the forces conducting aggression against us.’
Rhino Titan involved a total of around 2,400 troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade, the UK military’s global response force of which 3 Para is a part. The fictional scenario saw the paratroopers drop behind an invading enemy force, made up of soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, who had been attacking troops from the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment with drones.
The paratroopers’ mission was to effectively act as a blocking force to prevent further invaders from breaching Nato territory. ‘An airborne drop like this is one of the largest jumps since the Second World War,’ a defence source told The Mail on Sunday.
Brigadier Ed Cartwright, Commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, added: ‘We have been given a realistic challenge to defend Nato territory and pitted against an enemy using drones and electronic warfare, which is what we would face on the modern battlefield.’
The last time airborne forces from the UK leapt into combat on a battalion scale was during the 1956 Suez crisis, involving 668 men from 3 Para.
Meanwhile, the last British airdrop of the Second World War saw troops of the 6th Airborne deployed near the Rhine as part of Operation Varsity in 1945.
