90,000 troops prepare for largest 'NATO exercise since Cold War' following acquisition of weapons

Poland has signed a deal to buy anti-tank grenade launchers from Sweden's Saab in a deal worth around 6.5 billion zlotys ($ billion), Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Monday (March 4). This year Poland is spending about 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence as it seeks to strengthen its armed forces in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The deal concerns the Carl-Gustaf M4 grenade launcher, which is intended to combat all types of modern combat vehicles. In January, NATO launched its largest exercise since the Cold War, rehearsing how U.S. troops could reinforce European allies in countries bordering Russia and on the alliance's eastern flank if a conflict were to flare up with a “near-peer“ adversary. Some 90,000 troops are due to join the Steadfast Defender 2024 drills that will run through May. During a military drill on Monday, troops crossed Poland's Vistula River with tanks and military equipmen