CHELMNO, POLAND

– Only a few days after German and British engineer units built the record-breaking 350-meter M3 bridge over the Vistula River near Chelmno, Poland, as part of the NATO Exercise Anakonda 2016, a second river crossing took place at the same location. In this instance, an Improved Ribbon Bridge (IRB) from General Dynamics European Land Systems was constructed by U.S., German and Dutch bridging engineers.

 

The U.S. Army provided Improved Ribbon Bridge bays for a total of 200 meters of the 350-meter floating bridge and it was operated by U.S. and German engineer units. The Dutch engineer company provided the Standard Ribbon Bridge. Both systems are fully interoperable and require the same operational skills and bridge building procedures.

 

The IRB can be used as a full-span floating bridge or a multi-bay ferry for vehicles and equipment to cross a body of water. The bridging crews worked alongside each other, learning how bridge-building procedures are conducted by other militaries.

 

The exercise Anakonda 2016, that took place from June 7-17, was a Polish-led multinational exercise involving more than 31,000 participants from more than 20 nations.

 

About General Dynamics European Land Systems

– General Dynamics European Land Systems, headquartered in Madrid, Spain, is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), and conducts its business through five European operating sites located in Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Czech Republic. With around 1,800 highly skilled technical employees, the company designs, manufactures and delivers land combat systems, including wheeled, tracked and amphibious vehicles, bridge systems, armaments and munitions, to global customers. More information is available at www.gdels.com. Additional information on exercise Anakonda 2016 can be found at https://www.army.mil/article/169696/.