U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division soldiers rush out of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a hot/cold loading exercise at Sodankyla Airfield, Finland, in May 2024 as part of the Defender Europe 2024 exercise. Troops are gearing up for this year’s edition of the exercise, with equipment and personnel departing the U.S. for the Continent on April 10, 2025. (Ian Valley/U.S. Army Reserve)

STUTTGART, Germany — Several thousand U.S. soldiers are headed to Europe for large-scale combat drills that will stretch from the Arctic to the Mediterranean region, Army leaders on the Continent said Monday.

Troops are now beginning to mobilize for Defender 25, the service’s largest series of annual drills in Europe, according to a statement from U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

“This is about global deterrence,” USAREUR-AF boss Gen. Christoper Donahue said in the statement. “Everything we demonstrate we can do with our Allies and partners we can pick up and do anywhere.”

The exercise, which started with a test of how quickly troops and gear can be dispatched to Europe, offers logistics and combat “sets and reps” at a scale “that isn’t being done anywhere else right now,” Donahue said.

The U.S. Army Europe and Africa Band and Chorus performs a musical set as part of the Outreach Tour in Braila, Romania, April 8, 2025. The tour is a series of concerts in preparation for Defender 25, this year's iteration of a large-scale annual Army exercise in Europe. (Kyle Kimble/U.S. Army)

Defender 25 began April 10 with personnel and equipment setting out for positions in Europe. Various exercises will run through June and take place in 18 countries, with some 25,000 U.S. and allied troops.

Among the highlights is a plan for five simultaneous allied airborne operations happening in May in Finland, Norway, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden.

Other drills include large troop movements, such as a long tactical road march by Vilseck, Germany-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment soldiers that will have them link up with allies for various drills in central and southeastern Europe.

This year, about 5,400 U.S.-based soldiers will join their American counterparts already in Europe, the Army said. Thousands of other NATO countries’ troops also will be part of the initiative.

The Army launched the Defender series in Europe in 2020 as part of an effort to add complexity to U.S. and allied combat drills.  

“This exercise confirms the capabilities to deny aggressors and reinforces the U.S. commitment to NATO’s defense strategy and increases combat capability to deter with power,” USAREUR-AF said.