African Lion 25, US Africa Command’s premier annual exercise, officially commenced on 14 April in Tunisia, with activities in Ghana, Senegal, and Morocco beginning in May. With more than 10 000 troops from over 40 nations—including seven NATO allies—this year’s iteration will be the largest in the exercise’s history.
“African Lion 25 is Africom’s largest multinational, combined joint exercise in Africa. It demonstrates the capabilities of the total force by building strategic readiness and interoperability with our African partners and allies to deploy, fight, and win in a complex multi-domain environment,” said Major General Andrew C Gainey, commanding general, Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF).
Led by the US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, African Lion 25 enhances interoperability, strengthens readiness, and builds strategic partnerships through realistic, multi-domain training, the US military said. Exercises span land, air, maritime, space, and cyber domains.
“African Lion 25 is Africom’s largest multinational, combined joint exercise in Africa. It demonstrates the capabilities of the total force by building strategic readiness and interoperability with our African partners and allies to deploy, fight, and win in a complex multi-domain environment,” said Gainey.
Core events include field training exercises, airborne and amphibious operations, special operations forces, HIMARS rapid insertion (HIRAIN), humanitarian civic assistance, and medical readiness engagements. New capabilities being tested include integrated cyber defence training and next-generation systems such as the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW).
African Lion 25 will take place across Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, and Senegal. Participating nations include:
In Morocco: Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, France, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Israel, Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, United Kingdom, and the United States.
In Tunisia: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Spain, Tunisia, and the United States.
In Ghana: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Togo, and the United States.
In Senegal: Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Netherlands, Senegal, and the United States.
Observer nations include Belgium, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, India, Qatar, and Republic of Congo—reflecting broad interest in regional cooperation and collective security.
African Lion began in 2004 and has evolved into the US military’s most significant exercise on the continent. “This year’s events reinforce the US commitment to enduring partnerships and demonstrate our ability to respond to crises and deter threats by promoting peace through strength,” the US military said.
