The multinational exercise “Defender Europe ’25”, one of the largest and most complex military drills of the past decade across Europe and Africa, officially began a few days ago from Albania.
As part of the exercise, a simulated naval operation took place in the territorial waters of Durrës, approximately 6 miles from the port. According to local media, the scenario involved participation from the Albanian Navy vessels “Lissus,” “Oriku,” and “Semani,” as well as two U.S. naval ships and two “Cougar” helicopters from the Albanian Air Force.
The U.S. Embassy in Tirana stated that the Adriatic Sea became a simulated battlefield today for conducting maritime operations under the framework of “Defender25.”
In a Facebook post, the Embassy noted that two patrol ships from the U.S. Navy’s Expeditionary Sea Base Squadron escorted the Albanian Naval Force vessels during the exercise, which included Albanian troops boarding a naval ship using ropes in a simulated boarding maneuver.
The Embassy emphasized that:
“DEFENDER 25 is the U.S. Army’s largest annual exercise in Europe, bringing together 25,000 troops from 29 allied and partner nations to enhance rapid deployment and readiness for joint operations.”
“These exercises are crucial to ensuring NATO Allies remain prepared to face real security challenges,” the Embassy added.
