“Defender25” in Durrës, US Embassy: Our largest annual exercise in Europe (PHOTOS)
Express newspaper
06/06/2025 7:20
The multinational exercise “Defender Europe ’25”, one of the largest and most complex exercises of the last decade in Europe and Africa, began a few days ago from Albania.
As part of the exercise, a simulated naval operation was conducted in the territorial waters of Durrës, about 6 miles from the port. According to media reports, the Albanian Navy ships “Lissus”, “Oriku” and “Semani”, as well as two American ships and two “Cougar” helicopters of the Air Force participated in this scenario.
The US Embassy in Tirana said that the Adriatic Sea was transformed today into a simulation stage to conduct naval operations as part of “Defender25”.
In its Facebook post, it said that two patrol boats from the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron accompanied Albanian Navy ships during the exercise, which included Albanian forces rappelling down and boarding a Navy ship.
In its Facebook post, the embassy said 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 increase rapid deployment and readiness for joint operations.”
“These exercises are essential to ensuring that NATO Allies remain ready to face real security challenges,” the US Embassy in Tirana said.
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