Approximately 180 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members hosted nearly 150 members from partner nations for Exercise ARDENT DEFENDER, an international counter explosive exercise held at 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, from October 20 to November 2, 2023.
The exercise leveraged lessons learned from the contemporary operating environment, particularly in Eastern Europe, where the threat from explosive ordinances, both improvised and conventional, has resurfaced and evolved in recent years. It also served as an opportunity for the CAF to confirm and consolidate individual and collective skills in countering explosive threats.
Personnel from partner nations, including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, participated alongside counter-explosives experts from across the CAF and scientists from Defence Research and Development Canada. This year's exercise aimed to build a cohesive understanding of current explosive threats, and the means to exploit and counter them. Explosive threats, both improvised and conventional, remain a constant threat in the face of new and emerging forms of warfare.
