The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) will from next month conduct three multinational military exercises involving militaries from across the African continent.
The exercises include Exercise African Lion which holds from April 20 to May 8, 2026 and it is to be hosted in Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, and Senegal. A total of 5,600 military personnel from over 30 countries are expected to participate.
Exercise African Lion is U.S. Africa Command’s largest, premier, joint, annual exercise. AFRICOM says that “this joint all-domain, multi-component, and multinational exercise, employs a full array of mission capabilities with the goal to strengthen interoperability among participants and build readiness to respond to crises and contingencies in Africa and around the world.”
Exercise Flintlock 2026, which holds from April 29 to 30, is billed to take place in Libya and Côte d’Ivoire and will attract 1,500 troops from more than 30 countries.
U.S. Lieutenant General John Brennan, the deputy Commander of U.S. Africa Command, said that the exercise in Libya will be a training event intended to bring together both factions of the country’s divided armed forces.
Said General Brennan during a visit to Libya in October 2025: “This exercise isn’t just about military training; it’s about overcoming divisions, building capacity, and supporting Libya’s sovereign right to determine its own future. By working alongside Libyans from the West and the East, we’re directly contributing to Libyan efforts to unify their military institutions.”
The spring exercise is expected to be held near Sirte, a coastal city on the ceasefire line that splits the country in half. The western half is controlled by the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity; the eastern half is controlled by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army.
Exercise Obangame Express (OE) is scheduled to hold from April 23 to 29 with Cameroon as host. It will involve participation from approximately 29 countries.
Exercise Obangame Express (OE), which is one of three African regional “Express” series exercises sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and facilitated by U.S. Sixth Fleet (SIXTHFLT).
According to AFRICOM: “The exercise will improve regional cooperation in support of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct, Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), information sharing between Maritime Operation Centers (MOCs), maritime interdiction, adherence to the rule of law, and counter-proliferation interdiction capabilities in order to disrupt illicit maritime activity and strengthen safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea.
“The exercise begins with an in-port training period followed by at-sea scenarios. The underway portion of the exercise tests participating MOCs’ and ships’ abilities to coordinate and conduct maritime interdiction operations (MIO) by boarding teams against simulated suspect vessels, detecting illicit activity, and follow-on evidence collection procedures.
“The exercise will take place across five exercise zones in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Guinea that stretch from Cabo Verde to Angola, and across the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) nations.”
