Military exercise TRIAS25: Multinational troops practice in Allentsteig!

Military exercise TRIAS25: Multinational troops practice in Allentsteig!

The trinational exercise “TRIAS25” will take place from April 14th to May 9th, 2025 at the Allentsteig military training area in Lower Austria. Up to 950 soldiers from Switzerland, 150 from Germany and 200 from Austria are taking part in this large-scale exercise. The first week of the exercise is dedicated to the deployment of troops, while the fourth week is for disintegration and transport back to the home garrisons. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner emphasizes the importance of multinational exercises to improve operational techniques. Loud OTS The training area in Allentsteig offers the necessary area for complex scenarios, including the use of live ammunition and modern infrastructure.

Various materials are used for the exercise: all-terrain vehicles, combat and infantry fighting vehicles, and drones. These measures enable joint training with mechanized forces. The close cooperation between Austria, Germany and Switzerland in the D-A-CH format aims to expand capabilities and synergy effects in defense. The collaboration is not new; The Austrian contingent took part in the cyber exercise “Locked Shields 24” in Switzerland in April 2024.

Abuses at the military training area

However, the Allentsteig military training area also has to contend with criticism. A rough report from the Court of Auditors makes several allegations. There were unjustified discounts on timber sales and hunts. In addition, the procurement law was circumvented several times and employees of the Army Forestry Administration were paid excessive overtime rates. The report criticizes the economic performance of the training ground and points to deficiencies in leadership skills, mainly military trained. Crew housing occupancy was just 34.2 percent from 2010 to 2013, highlighting the need for more efficient management.

The Court of Auditors recommends that forestry and hunting tasks be transferred to the responsibility of the federal forestry authorities. Illegal practices were also identified in the procurement of timber. A work contract came to 288,000 euros, although the original estimate was 58,000 euros. Despite these serious grievances, the Ministry of Defense does not wish to comment on the report and has three weeks to make its own assessment.

Planned international assignments

In the context of multinational exercises, the Federal Army is planning a total of 33 exercises and training measures abroad for 2025. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner presented this plan to the main committee of the National Council. The measures are largely continuations of previous years and concern, among other things, peacekeeping, humanitarian aid and disaster relief. Deployments are also planned in countries such as Germany and Canada, where the deployments can vary between 3 and 350 people, depending on the measure. Staff or troop exercises are mainly carried out.

The focus of the measures is clearly on improving leadership performance and international cooperation. This is supported by many years of intensive cooperation with the German Bundeswehr, with Austrian troops regularly training at German military training areas.