The United Kingdom will send 20,000 troops to participate in large-scale NATO exercises in Europe.

The Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom reported about this on Monday.

The Alliance’s largest post-Cold War exercise, Steadfast Defender 24, will take place in the first half of this year.

The aim of the military manoeuvres is to practise defending NATO’s eastern flank.

Service personnel from the British Army, warships and aircraft will deploy across Europe to take part in Exercise Steadfast Defender 24.

“I can announce today that the UK will be sending some 20,000 personnel to take part in one of NATO’s largest deployments since the end of the Cold War,” Defense Secretary Grant Shapps MP is expected to say.

16,000 troops from the British Army will be deployed across eastern Europe from February to June 2024, taking with them a carrier strike group and Royal Navy submarines, as well as F35B Lightning attack aircraft and surveillance aircraft.

The Defense Secretary added that the British military will join forces with counterparts from 30 NATO countries plus Sweden during the exercise, “providing vital reassurance against the Putin menace.”

As previously reported, the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is retiring Albion class amphibious assault ships to make up for a severe sailor shortage.

This decision was made upon attempts to staff one of the assault ships with a full crew for deployment in the Red Sea, amid a strengthened presence to protect civilian shipping.

However, after reconciling the lists, the Royal Navy reported that the total number of crew members was not enough to fully staff at least one Albion class amphibious assault ship. Because of this, it was decided to retire the ships from active service until a sufficient number of crew members will be recruited.

The same problem is faced by other surface ships that are undergoing long-term repairs, and during this time, the number of crew members decreases due to the end of the contract and changes in specialty.