WADI SHADIYA, Jordan -- On a hilltop in the country of Jordan, two F-16 Fighting Falcons break the calm morning silence is broken when they drop their explosive payload. As a cloud of powdery dust and shrapnel rise from the target area, the engines of five M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks roar to life and move into position atop a hill overlooking a ravine. A radio crackles as a platoon leader's voice pours from the speakers. "Alpha, get ready. Top hat. Top hat. Top hat." Two 62-ton behemoths maneuver forward of the berm. "3. 2. 1. Fire!" With a deafening boom, bursts of flame leap from the main guns. This was the scene at the culminating combined arms live-fire exercise during Eager Lion 2017, a two-week-long multinational combined training exercise. Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment "Warhorse," 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division built interoperability with their partners during this time.

United States Army Article