The «ŠTIT 15» international exercise engaged some 600 members of the Croatian Armed Forces and 70 members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Slovenia. The main objective of the Exercise was to demonstrate the Air Defence units’ firing competence and trainedness, and harmonised inter-branch and inter-service operation. The exercise demonstration in the “Rt Kamenjak“ Training Range on 24 April 2015, organised as the Distinguished Visitor Day, demonstrated the air target shooting by Croatian and Slovenian Air Defence and Army forces…

The exercise demonstration in the “Rt Kamenjak“ Training Range on 24 April 2015, organised as the Distinguished Visitor Day, demonstrated the airb target shooting ability. It was attended by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Dragutin Repinc, the Commander of the Croatian Army, Major General Mate Ostović and  senior military and civilian visitors. 
The Exercise itself commenced on 15 April, for the 21st consecutive time  – it is a longest exercise conducted by the Croatian Armed Forces (since 1994), and for the second time an international event, joining the Croatian and Slovenian air defence forces.
The «ŠTIT 15» exercise engaged 600 members of the Croatian Armed Forces and 70 members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Slovenia. The main objective of the Exercise was to demonstrate the various Air Defence units’ firing competence and trainedness, and their harmonised inter-branch and inter-service operation. The designated EXO was the Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command of the Croatian Army, Brigadier General Blaž Beretin, and the Exercise Director Lieutenant Colonel Damir Jugović.

The exercise demonstration featured air target shooting from air defence artillery and missile systems, presenting air defence capabilities of the Slovenian and Croatian Army components. 
The exercise featured air defence drill, with  Air Defence armoured vehicles tracking and and shooting the targets towed by a MIG-21 aircraft at the speed of 500 km/h, and air defence missile units performed live target imitator firing.
The participants fired 10 projectiles from the “S-2Ms“ and three missiles from “IGLA“ portable air defence missile systems respectively. The Slovenian soldiers fired two projectiles  from the “IGLA-S“ system. Throughout the Exercise a total of 100 projectiles were fired from the “S-2M” and eight from LPRS “IGLA“, and the Slovenian forces fired five projectiles from th “IGLA-S“ respectively.
The exercises of the kind are relevant for the implementation of the Capability Goals,, and constitute a realistic readiness test for participation in joint operations with NATO nations.
Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Dragutin Repinc extended appreciation to all members for the commitment and performance. Lt. Gen. Repinc also expressed satisfaction over the co-operation with the Slovenian Armed Forces and the hope of continued joint exercises: “We are most glad to have conducted the Exercise jointly with the members of the Slovenian Armed Forces. I hope the co-operation will grow into a tradition much like the Exercise itself. It is of great importance to build friendly relations, compatibility and interoperability between the Croatian and Slovenian forces and among the Allies in general.
Lt. General Repinc also emphasised that the ŠTIT 15 Exercise crowned a long effort  aimed at joint development and practice of standard operational procedures, tactics and procedures.
The experience acquired and exchanged in the Exercise will be relevant for the development of the air defence system in Croatia and Slovenia alike.
As an Exercise-related activity, the Armed Forces members assisted the host municipality of Medulin by conducting engineer works and clean-up in the Rt Kamenjak.
The Commander of the Slovenian Logistic Brigade, Colonel Milan Žurman shared satisfacton over the bilateral Exercise and the jointly achieved results. “The ŠTIT 15 Exercise is of great importance for the Slovenian Armed Forces, committed to nurturing friendly co-operation with the Croatian military and Croatia as a NATO and the EU nation. Interoperability and compatibility are our objective, and today we have demonstrated that we have achieved them in the air defence segment“.
Colonel Žurman also underlined that the ŠTIT 15 Exercise was an example of optimal and cost-saving co-operation, quite in line with the tenets of Smart Defence.

The Commander of the Slovenian Logistic Brigade, Colonel Milan Žurman

„The ŠTIT 15 Exercise is of great importance for the Slovenian Armed Forces, committed to nurturing friendly co-operation with the Croatian military and Croatia as a NATO and the EU nation. Interoperability and compatibility are our targets, and today we have demonstrated that we have achieved them in the air defence segment“

Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Dragutin Repinc

“We are most glad to have conducted the Exercise jointly with the members of the Slovenian Armed Forces. I hope the co-operation will grow into a tradition much like the Exercise itself. It is of great importance to build friendly relations, compatibility and interoperability between the Croatian and Slovenian forces and among the Allies in general. The experience acquired and exchanged here will be relevant for the development of the air defence system both in Croatia and Slovenia.