Major exercise in summer

“Shield 24”: Austrian Armed Forces rehearse the worst-case scenario

(Bild: Michael Steinberger)

Cyber attacks, protection of critical infrastructure, combat operations and defense against nuclear, biological and chemical warfare agents - these are the scenarios of the eleven-day large-scale exercise of the Austrian Armed Forces.

Large-scale military deployment in Carinthia in mid-June: In the course of "Schutzschild 24", the largest exercise in 30 years, 6000 soldiers of the Austrian Armed Forces (1000 of them from the militia) with over 1,110 wheeled and 15 airborne vehicles will rehearse an emergency in Styria, Burgenland, Lower Austria and our province.

Attacks with nuclear, chemical and biological warfare agents are also simulated.

(Bild: BMLV / Paul Kulec )

Eurofighters will also fly over the Carinthian skies - even at low altitude.

(Bild: Bundesheer)

"Specifically, it's about the 'protective operation' task area that the Austrian Armed Forces are tasked with. A rethought form of national defense adapted to current developments," says Carinthia's military commander Brigadier Philipp Eder. In Carinthia alone, 1500 soldiers will be deployed during, but also before and after the exercise (arrival and departure).

The war of the future will take place in invisible space. And even if systems fail due to cyber attacks, we must remain capable of acting.

Philipp Eder, Militärkommandant Kärnten

Soldiers in public spaces too
And not just away in the woods, but also in public spaces. After all, one focus of the exercises is the protection of critical infrastructure. This concerns not only property protection as such - but also the intelligence sector, which is currently on everyone's lips - as well as the defense against cyber attacks.

The second attack scenario, which is kept top secret from the participating troops, involves attacks with nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. And, of course, there will also be "combat challenges", i.e. combat operations. However, the fact that this exercise is taking place exclusively in eastern Austria has nothing to do with Russia.

The major exercise in detail

• The exercise will take place from June 10 to 21 in the Central and Lower Carinthia region (Wolfsberg, Völkermarkt, St. Veit, Klagenfurt and Klagenfurt-Land districts).
• The affected infrastructure objects and protection areas: Barracks, airport, Spitalberg, hospital, district heating plant (Klagenfurt); Friesach hospital; Infineon Villach; Glainach military training area; main traffic lines A2 and S37;
• There will also be low-flying military aircraft and landings in the training area.
• If you find ammunition or parts of ammunition, DO NOT touch them and report them to the police. Contact point for the population with concerns regarding the large-scale exercise: 0664/ 622 4309

"Defensive operation" not feasible
Interesting side information: Another area of responsibility of the army would be "defensive operations" - i.e. defense in the event of a war of aggression. However, Austria (unlike Ukraine, at least at the beginning of the war) would be far from sufficiently equipped for this at the current stage. But with the exception of Finland and Turkey, no European country would be without NATO support at the moment.