About 31,000 troops from NATO states as well as five partners of the bloc (Macedonia, Finland, Georgia, Sweden and Ukraine) will participate in the Polish-led drills. The largest contingent was sent by the United States – about 14,000 soldiers.
Around 3,000 vehicles, 105 aircraft and 12 naval vessels will also be involved in the maneuver.
"[Anakonda 2016] seeks to train, exercise and integrate Polish national command and force structures into an allied, joint, multinational environment. This exercise further supports assurance and deterrence measures by demonstrating allied defense capabilities to deploy, mass and sustain combat power," the United States Army Europe said in a statement.
For the first time the Anakonda drills were conducted in 2006 and since then have been held every two years. This year the drills will be carries out a month before the NATO Summit that will take place in Warsaw in July.
