English: Paratroopers from 3 PARA descend follwoing a drop by a French Air Force C160 aircraft during Exercise Joint Warrior.

Soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade are training to maintain their role as the British Army’s Rapid Reaction Force.

More than 1600 troops taking part in Exercise Joint Warrior in southwest Scotland. The training is a key step in maintaining the skills necessary for the Airborne Task Force (ABTF) role, which sees the Colchester-based 16 Air Assault Brigade ready to deploy anywhere in the world at five days notice.

The exercise scenario sees the area of West Freugh airfield representing part of an area disputed by two fictional nations named Pastonia and Dragonia, which are divided by economic and ethnic factors.

The scenario represents complex challenges for the international community requiring NATO to send a rapid intervention force to the area to create the conditions for a United Nations peacekeeping force to take control. The UK’s ABTF used a combination of parachute, air assault, and tactical air landings to rapidly insert the troops into the disputed area.

Once inserted the ABTF, based around the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (5 SCOTS) Battle Group, continued to defend the airfield.

The Battle Group also developed the airfield into a base from which several air assault operations could be launched to defeat the enemy force, create stable conditions for the population, and potentially evacuate UK civilians.

• Organization: ARMY
• Object Name: HQScot-2012-033-0148
• Category: MOD
• Supplemental Categories: Operations, Exercises, People, Army, Equipment, Aircraft, Foreign Aircraft
• Keywords: Army, Personnel, Identifiable, Soldier, Paratroopers, Soldiers, Joint Warrior, French, France, Partnership, Anglo French, 16 Air Assault Brigade, The Parachute Regiment , Paras, 3rd Bn The Parachute Regiment , 3 PARA, Parachutes
• Country: UK