From May 9 to 27, the Czech Air Base at ?áslav will host exercise Lion Effort that brings together the countries that operate JAS-39 Gripen fighter aircraft also known as Gripen Users Group or GUG. The exercise will also integrate NATO’s Ramstein Guard electronic warfare drills. The flying part of Lion Effort 2024 will occur between May 13 and 24. The Czech, Hungarian and Swedish Gripen operating out of ?áslav will be fliyng with Czech L-159 fighters and C-295 CASA transport aircraft. German Eurofighter Typhoon and Polish F-16 fighters and A-330 MRTT refueling aircraft will support the exercise operating from the home bases.
“Exercise Lion Effort 2024 will be exceptional this year for several reasons. First, the Swedish Air Force will participate in the exercise for the first time as the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Alliance. Second, we are integrating the NATO Ramstein Guard drills into Lion Effort aimed at conducting combat activities in a challenging electronic warfare (EW) environment and last but not least we are pleased to have observers from our GUG colleagues in Thailand with us,” said Air Force Commander Brigadier General Petr ?epelka.
“Among the 500 soldiers participating in Lion Effort, there will be about 150 members of the air forces of Hungary, Sweden, Thailand and Brazil, and we will conduct flying manoreuvres with more than 20 aircraft including Gripen,” said Major Zuzana Sekaninová, press officer of the Air Force Command of the Czech Armed Force.
The main aim of the Lion Effort exercise series is to share experiences of various GUG members in operating the Gripen aircraft e.g. in different climatic conditions. Pilots from several nations will fly alongside each other exploiting similarities and synergies a common flying platform offers. Organised in a three-year rotating pattern, Lion Effort 2024 is the fifth GUG exercise and Czechia hosts it for the second time after 2015. The first iteration took place in Hungary in 2009; the country also hosted the event in 2018. The 2012 edition was held in Sweden and in 2021 the exercise was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. During the Ramstein Guard phase, the Draken contractor will fly FA-20 Falcon aircraft and operate ground-based jammers to create a realistic simulated EW environment.
