CARPATHIAN FLOW ~ Before Belgian Defence could exercise with NATO allies in Romania, troops, vehicles and equipment had to be transported there.
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Press Release, Brussels, 01 May 2025: [auto-translated] Before the Belgian Defence can exercise side by side with its NATO allies in Romania, troops, vehicles and equipment have to be transported there. That is the aim of CARPATHIAN FLOW , a large-scale logistical operation coordinated by the Movement Control Group, with the 29th Logistics Battalion, which forms the preparation for DACIAN SPRING , which will take place in May.
Hundreds of Belgian and Luxembourg soldiers, 200 vehicles and tons of equipment are being transported to Romania via five modes of transport: road, rail, sea, air and inland waterways. This multimodal approach, a first for Defence, made it possible to test the robustness of the logistical apparatus in real conditions.
A major logistical challenge: The road convoys crossed several European countries with the support of local authorities to avoid delays. The maritime freight departed from the port of Zeebrugge and was accompanied to Greece by the same Belgian teams, who ensured operational continuity.
The equipment was then loaded onto the train to save considerable time, while part of the transport continued by road. Air transport allowed for the rapid transfer of personnel and time-sensitive equipment. Finally, some of the equipment was also transported by inland waterway to evaluate the effectiveness of this method, an option that seems promising for the future.
Civil-military coordination: The success of this phase was based on close cooperation between Defence, local civil authorities (customs, ports, railway managers) and NATO partners.
Specialised teams were deployed at all critical points to ensure smooth operations. They could count on the support of the 10th Communications and Information Systems Group (10 Gp CIS), the 23rd Medical Battalion (23 Bn Med) and the Military Police.
A full-scale test: CARPATHIAN FLOW is not just an exercise on paper. Everything took place under real operational conditions, with strict deadlines and logistics that were under pressure. This deployment is an important step for the organisation of DACIAN SPRING, and shows that Belgium is able to meet its NATO obligations.
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