An Airbus A400M from the German Air Force is on the tarmac at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The aircraft arrived from a deployment scenario in Lithuania, where Germany's 45th Battletank Brigade is stationed to help defend NATO's eastern flank against a potential Russian attack. Medics carry a wounded soldier on a stretcher through the open rear ramp and hand him over to emergency teams from St John Ambulance and the Maltese aid service.
The soldier is registered and taken to hospital for treatment in Germany. This is only a drill. The Bundeswehr is running through the rescue chain for wounded soldiers during the Medic Quadriga exercise as part of the German military's 2026 Quadriga drills.
The exercise is conducted together with civilian emergency services, covering the entire route from the deployment area in Lithuania to treatment in Germany. The Bundeswehr describes it as the 'most complex' and 'largest' medical exercise carried out since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The exercise aims to boost the Bundeswehr's operational readiness and response capability while strengthening cooperation with civilian partners in the healthcare sector.
For the first time, the entire military medical evacuation chain was tested, from treating the wounded in the operational theatre in Lithuania to their care in German hospitals. Around 1,250 people took part in the exercise, including roughly 1,000 military personnel and 250 staff from civilian organisations. Participants included the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), the German Red Cross, Johanniter, the German Life Saving Association (DLRG), ADAC Air Rescue and the Berlin Senate.
The MedEvac Airbus, effectively a flying intensive care unit operated by the German armed forces, had originally been scheduled to transport the exercise casualties from Lithuania to Berlin last week. Due to the current security situation in the Middle East, the flight had been cancelled at short notice. ' Despite the flight being cancelled, a number of exercise casualties were brought to a centre near Berlin's Airport last Friday, where they were registered, medically assessed and treated according to the severity of their injuries.
Surgeon General Dr Ralf Hoffmann explained that in a real emergency, evacuations would not rely on aircraft alone, but also on trains. ' Dr Ralf Hoffmann pointed to the war in Ukraine as an example, where around 90% of patient transfers are carried out by rail, showing that trains are among the most important means.