SARAJEVO, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- A multinational army contingent carrying military equipment landed at Sarajevo International Airport (SIA) on Monday, preparing for the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina's (EUFOR) largest annual exercise "Quick Response 19," EUFOR's press office said in a statement.
The army contingent flew in from Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and the United Kingdom on an Antonov An-124, one of the world's largest planes.
The exercise, which will run between Oct. 7 and 11, aims to test EUFOR's capability to rapidly reinforce its troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with its reserve forces, which are held at high-readiness in partner nations.
"This long-standing annual exercise demonstrates to all the people of BiH the commitment that EUFOR has to help maintain a peaceful environment," EUFOR spokesperson Tim Leckey said.
"Quick Response 19," which will take place at several locations throughout the country, will allow EUFOR Headquarters to exercise command and control on a large scale and to give the troops the opportunity to expand their knowledge and experience of peace support operations through a broad range of exercise scenarios.
EUFOR is governed by the UN Security Council's executive mandate for this exercise and is required to regularly rehearse this reinforcement. The exercise will bring together BiH's law enforcement agencies and armed forces with EUFOR in order to test their respective contingency plans and capabilities of mutual support.
