From 27 September to 7 October 2021, the largest Northern European military exercises of special operations forces “Night Hawk 2021” take place in Denmark.

According to the Danish Defence, military personnel is deployed at Aalborg Air Base and Frederikshavn Naval Base, but the exercises take place in numerous places in Denmark on land, at sea and in the air, sometimes in densely populated areas of cities to work out learning scenarios in a very realistic environment.

According to the Danish Special Operations Command, Night Hawk 2021 exercises will focus on training special forces skills in scenarios in the framework of hybrid threats and warfare, when the enemy not only attacks critical infrastructure, but also complements it with cyber-attacks on public institutions, with misinformation, disorientation in the population etc.

The number of foreign participants is 2,500 servicemen from 13 countries – Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Some countries sent air assets in the form of aircraft and helicopters, as well as ships and rigid-hulled inflatable boats. Denmark is represented by Special Operations, Naval, Air, Army and Home Guard units.

The first military exercises “Night Hawk” took place in Denmark in the early 90's. Since then, their concept and scope have developed so significantly that they are recognized at the international level, primarily due to the closeness of tasks to realistic conditions. The last exercises took place in 2018 with the participation of 1,800 servicemen from 8 countries.

Photo Credit: Specialoperationskommandoen