Longest M3 bridge built for NATO multinational exercise Anakonda 2016

The German Army’s 130th Engineer Battalion (PzPiBtl 130) and the British Army’s 23rd Engineer Combined Engineer Unit operated the longest floating M3 bridge ever built to allow NATO forces to cross the Vistula River near Chełmno, Poland .

It was built as part of the Anakonda 2016 exercise, a Polish Operational Command-led multinational training event with the support of US Army Europe (USAREUR). The exercise is intended to strengthen military cooperation, cohesion and interoperability between NATO and partner countries.

During Anakonda 2016, the 350 meter long floating bridge was built in just 35 minutes by eight British and 22 German M3s. After assembly was completed, vehicles from the participating NATO land forces crossed the bridge. The German and British engineering units, based together in Minden, Germany, are the only NATO units operating M3, an amphibious bridge/ferry system.

The General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) M3 bridge provides wet gap bridging capability for loads up to MLC (Military Load Classification) 85 Tracked (T) / 132 Wheeled (W), including NATO’s heaviest combat vehicles, the main battle tanks Leopard 2, M1A2 Abrams and Challenger 2.

As reported by Defense News, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the commander of U.S. Army Europe, who crossed the completed bridge in a Stryker vehicle, said, “This is the best bridge I have ever seen in my life. I have been given a wonderful example of interoperability. This is a great example of an ally providing the capabilities everyone else needs.”

GDELS’s M3 bridge is a unique capability in the German and British armies and also in NATO. During many international exercises in recent months, the German M3 unit was called upon to support other countries with the bridge.