Estonian defence forces get ready for the NATO-led Spring Storm exercise
Estonian defence forces get ready for the NATO-led Spring Storm exercise
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Tallin: NATO members are preparing for any scenario as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, with representatives arriving in Estonia for an upcoming annual war game that will likely involve 14,000 troops from 11 nations.

The largest base in Estonia and one of the closest to the Russian border among NATO members is Tapa base, where the military exercise will take place. In Tallinn's capital, experts from all over the world are attending the Lennart Meri Conference as Estonian, British, French, and other national forces arrive at the base to get ready for Spring Storm.

The goal of the exercise is to evaluate how well allied forces will function in the event of a military assault by the Russians. According to reports, the UK has sent attack helicopters called Wildcat and Apache, while France has sent VBMR Griffon armoured vehicles.

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French Maj. Jean Christophe told Arab News that "here we're in a defensive mission alongside our other allies," including NATO troops. We will participate in the exercise along with the Estonians and approximately 400 British soldiers.

In accordance with a bilateral agreement with Estonia, the UK has confirmed that it will take part in "a multilateral exercise supporting the Estonian Defence Forces and the aircraft we deployed."

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"One of the main reasons we do deployments like this is to provide aviation support to the Estonian Defence Forces so they effectively get used to operating with aircraft like these," British Army Air Corps Col. Al Rivett said.

Spring Storm will use "combined arms," a style of warfare that aims to integrate various military combat units to produce mutually beneficial results. For instance, using infantry and armour in an urban setting where each supports the other.

According to SACEUR (Supreme Allied Commander Europe), the enhanced forward presence battle group is a force assigned to NATO, Rivett said. that agreement, "that force is effectively always aligned to NATO and is formally attributed to him for the SACEUR to use as he sees fit."

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NATO nations plan to conduct a number of military drills, including Spring Storm, with the aim of sending a strong message to the Kremlin. Since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the exercises have gotten larger and more complex.

Thousands of soldiers will participate in 18 military drills planned by NATO between May and September of this year, according to data.

 

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