Thousands of British troops have travelled across Europe after setting off from Marchwood as part of a major Nato training exercise.

Around 2,500 British personnel, along with hundreds of vehicles, are moving across the continent by land, air and sea to join allies in Romania.

The operation, called Steadfast Dart, aims to highlight Nato’s ability to mobilise at speed and also comes ahead of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Steadfast Dart is the first major deployment of Nato’s Allied Reaction Force (ARF), which replaced the Nato Response Force last year.

The programme is intended to test Nato’s ability to deploy under pressure.

Second Lieutenant Alex Coleman said: “Steadfast Dart 25 is the Nato Allied Reaction Force’s first deployment exercise, it is definitely a significant undertaking, it is a very long road move across Europe.

“Steadfast Dart shows what the British Army and Nato are capable of – that we can move large convoys over long distances to enable activity wherever we need to do that.

“There have been plenty of lessons learned by all involved but we have managed to pull it all together.”

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British troops set off from Marchwood last week, with around 730 vehicles, including Foxhound patrol and Jackal high mobility weapons platform vehicles.

Also deployed from Marchwood was Mastiff armoured patrol vehicles as well as fuel tankers and forklift trucks, fitted on to three ferries at the Sea Mounting Centre.

Lt Coleman said the convoy has travelled from the UK, through the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and will cover a distance of more than 1,400 miles.

Speaking earlier this month, armed forces minister Luke Pollard said: “This Government wants the UK to be Nato’s leading European nation.

“Exercise Steadfast Dart demonstrates our unshakeable commitment to Nato and highlights the UK’s key leadership role in the alliance.

“As we approach the three-year anniversary of Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we must continue to strengthen our collective defences together to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively.”