Army 5th Engineer Brigade Conducts ROK-US Combined River Crossing Exercise

Over 100 Pieces of Equipment, Including Suryong Autonomous Crossing Vehicle, Participate in Training

The Army announced on the 20th that the 5th Engineer Brigade conducted the 'ROK-US Combined Arms Crossing Training' for six days starting from the 15th in the Imjingang area of Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, as part of the 2025 Freedom Shield (FS) exercise.

This training was planned to enhance the organic combined crossing operation capabilities of the ROK-US forces. Approximately 600 soldiers participated, including the 5th Engineer Brigade, 7th Engineer Brigade crossing units, 3rd Division tank battalion, 1st Armored Brigade tank battalion, 5th Corps aviation unit, and subordinate units of the US 2nd Division/ROK-US Combined Division (hereafter Combined Division) such as the multipurpose bridge company, Stryker Brigade, and 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade. Additionally, about 100 aircraft and armored vehicles were deployed, including Korean autonomous crossing equipment Suryong, ribbon bridges, improved tactical floating bridges, CH-47D Chinook helicopters, 500MD helicopters, K1E1 tanks, Cheonma, and US Stryker armored vehicles.

The training intensified once reconnaissance of the crossing point was completed, with 500MD helicopters and K1E1 tanks beginning to eliminate enemy threats on the opposite riverbank. Simultaneously, MV-4 unmanned remote mine-clearing equipment and K600 obstacle-breaching tanks removed enemy obstacles and mines installed at the crossing departure point.

After securing the crossing point, under the cover of 500MD helicopters, the Suryong transformed from a vehicle into a floating bridge form to start ferrying friendly armored forces across the river. Soon after, ribbon bridges and improved tactical floating bridges connected like rafts were also deployed for crossing operations.

When enemy counterattacks caused damage to crossing assets, Chinook helicopters began airlifting the crossing assets. ROK-US soldiers combined the internal connections of the crossing assets arriving by land and air to complete a 180-meter-long combined bridge spanning the Imjingang. Subsequently, large-scale friendly forces, including K1E1 tanks and US Stryker armored vehicles, rapidly maneuvered across the combined bridge to the target area, concluding the training.

Major Jeong Byeong-hyeok, crossing company commander of the 5th Engineer Brigade who participated in the training, said, "We trained with the mindset that operations are training and training is operations, giving our best effort. It was a good opportunity to maximize the interoperability of ROK-US crossing equipment and improve the capability to conduct combined operations."

Lieutenant Colonel Kim Young-moon, training staff officer of the 5th Engineer Brigade who planned the training, stated, "Through this training, we were able to master the step-by-step combined arms combat execution methods during crossing operations. We will do our best to strengthen the capability to conduct combined crossing operations to guarantee the mobility of combined forces anytime and anywhere."