Nato forces exercise together on Salisbury Plain

German and British soldiers have been sharing knowledge of weaponry as part of an exercise to bolster Nato relationships.

The 1st Battalion, The Rifles, trained alongside a German paratrooper anti-tank platoon on Salisbury Plain, the UK's largest training area.

Captain James Prince said it is hoped the exercise will help Nato's nations work together more closely in the future.

The demonstration also marked the first time the German unit has trained on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, using each other's weapons including machine guns and assault rifles.

First Lieutenant Lucas (r) joined Captain James Prince (l) of The Rifles at the exercise

Cpt Prince said: "This is hopefully a stepping stone for future partnerships with our German colleagues and wider Nato allies.

"Certainly, this is a low level exercise, we're hoping to expand to larger formations.

"Demonstrating the strength of the Nato alliance is key at the lowest level at this point of time.

"We're conducting live fire, sharing our weapon systems and getting used to different weapon systems."

First Lieutenant Lucas, a platoon commander, said he is "really happy to be here now".

The soldiers worked together on Salisbury Plain

"It's good to have an understanding of how the counterpart works," Lt Lucas said.

"To know the limitations and concentrate, sometimes it can be a little bit challenging."

"We're living in times of greater conflict. We try to strengthen Nato to improve our deterrent. To get better and better.

Once the three week training has finished, the two units will use small arms weapons as part of a competition.

The next exercise is already being planned next year in Germany.