The drills, held on Friday in the northern city of Elbląg, involved troops from the 20th Bartoszyce Mechanized Brigade using Legwan light reconnaissance vehicles to assault an enemy-held port area, while soldiers from the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade conducted an air assault using an Mi-17 helicopter, state news agency PAP reported.
AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and the naval vessel ORP Śniardwy also took part in the exercise.
Photo: PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk
The minesweeper, normally based in the Baltic port of Gdynia, reached Elbląg via the Vistula Spit canal, the military said.
The exercise also included medical evacuation drills, with teams practising battlefield treatment and helicopter evacuation of wounded soldiers.
Maj. Karol Frankowski, spokesman for Poland's 16th Mechanized Division, said the operation required close coordination between land, sea and air forces.
"Many elements must work together—the attack has to be completed within minutes to prevent an effective enemy response," he said.
Frankowski said part of the exercise was conducted outside military training areas to reflect the realities of modern warfare.
"These are conditions we must be ready for on a modern battlefield," he said. "The war in Ukraine shows that combat happens in open terrain, in dense urban areas, indoors and in confined spaces."
He described the port of Elbląg as strategically important for regional security and NATO's eastern flank.
Photo: PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk
Friday's operation marked the final phase of a tactical exercise that began in mid-June, involving 6,500 Polish troops and about 300 soldiers from Lithuania.
The drills formed part of the broader Amber Defender 26 exercise, which involved about 10,000 troops and 700 pieces of military equipment.
Photo: PAP/Tomasz Waszczuk
Alongside the 16th Mechanized Division, participating units included the Warmian-Masurian Territorial Defense Brigade, army aviation units and the Armed Forces Support Inspectorate, which is responsible for managing military logistics and infrastructure, the PAP news agency reported.
The division described Amber Defender 26 as one of the Polish military's most important exercises of 2026, aimed at testing the armed forces' ability to deter aggression and defend the country's territory.
(pu/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP