Major training exercises scheduled to take place in Romania, in the first semester of 2025

Approximately 15,000 Romanian and allied soldiers will participate, in the first half of the year, in the multinational training events scheduled to take place in military firing ranges and facilities in Romania, as part of the DACIA 25 and DACIAN SPRING 25 Exercises. An indicator of the complexity of the training activities from the first half of 2025 is the fact that the training sequences will be conducted in no less than seven firing ranges in the northwest, center, south and southeast of the country.

Exercise DACIA 25 is the major training event at the operational and tactical levels, which provides the necessary framework for the integration of national and allied forces by connecting with other multinational exercises scheduled by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Power Europe - SHAPE and the United States European Command - USEUCOM. The connected exercises within DACIA 25 are: STEADFAST DART 25 - planned by SHAPE, which will take place in February, SEA SHIELD 25 - planned and conducted by the Naval Forces Staff and VALIANT STRIKE 25 - planned and conducted by the Special Operations Forces Command, both taking place over April-May and SABER GUARDIAN 25 - scheduled by USEUCOM, in collaboration with the Defence Staff, for June.

The first major training exercise in this series, STEADFAST DART 25 (STDT 25), planned by SHAPE and led by the Allied Joint Force Command Naples - JFCNP, will begin on February 10th, and the operational stages will be run until February 21st. The STDT 25 scenario will focus on the execution of specific peacetime alerting, deployment and force integration activities to test the reaction and response capability in crisis situations. The exercise will demonstrate NATO's ability to activate the Allied Response Force and coordinate its rapid transition to a location where it can provide strategic deterrent effects by reinforcing the already deployed forces. It is the first time the Allied Response Force will conduct an operational deployment since its establishment on July 1st, 2024. 

 The DACIAN SPRING 25 Exercise (DASP 25) planned and led by the MND-SE (Multinational Division South-East), over 05 - 26 May, represents a first through the deployment on Romanian territory by France -the framework nation of the NATO Battle Group from Cincu - of a multinational brigade-level structure consisting of approximately 4,000 French soldiers and means of equipment.

The Romanian Armed Forces, together with allied and partner forces, conduct this series of joint military exercises, aimed at strengthening cooperation within NATO and the Romanian-American Strategic Partnership. These training sessions demonstrate the unity and solidarity of the allies, as well as the ability of NATO structures and the American Strategic Partner to intervene quickly in support of Romania. The main purpose of the exercises is to increase the defence and deterrence capability, improve coordination and reaction time, and strengthen military interoperability and mobility. In a complex global environment, marked by security crises, these training sessions become essential for the preparation of the armed forces.

For the Romanian Armed Forces, the exercises are an opportunity to test the ability to support defensive operations within the alliance and to ensure the necessary support for troops and equipment transiting or stationing on the national territory. These military activities are a clear example of the joint commitment to the collective security and stability of the region.

The planned training activities will include tactical movements and exercises with and without combat firings, parachuting, watercourse forcing, encrypted communications, coordination of transit through air, naval and land border crossing points, as well as medical activities.

The Press Office