Four Typhoons from 3 Squadron have this week been undertaking Air-Land Integration training with the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Estonia.
The aircraft based at RAF Coningsby have been operating with the British Army Battlegroup currently deployed in Estonia according to a press release. The training reportedly focused on working with the Joint Terminal Attack Controllers and those of NATO allies; Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia.
According to the RAF:
“Joint Terminal Attack Controllers usually known just as JTACs are personnel who are able to direct the action of combat aircraft engaged in close air support and other offensive air operations from a forward position on the ground.
The training has also gave the pilots flying time over an unusual and challenging environment, whilst continuing to build upon strong relationships between the UK and other allied NATO nations.”
The UK led multi-national battlegroup, which also has personnel from France and Denmark, is part of the 1st Estonian Infantry Brigade.
It forms part of the wider NATO Enhanced Forward Presence, with multinational forces deployed across the Baltic States and Poland, led by the US, Canada and Germany.
The UK has a further 150 soldiers based in Poland, part of the US led battlegroup and RAF Typhoons have recently completed a four month deployment to Romania, patrolling the Black Sea skies.
During the second half of the 20th-century, war and immediate nuclear destruction by the Russians were just minutes away. Somehow, we all lived with that sword of Damaclese hanging over our daily lives, and put such horrors to the back of the mind. Though the nuclear component may have reseeded a little in terms of immediate reprisal, the minutes have not diminished nor lengthened.
I feel some disquiet, that UK forces are deployed along the most sensitive zone along the Russian border with Estonia. The Uk along with Estonian and French troops are just minutes away from conflict with Russian forces. So dangerous is the current state of play, along the Balkan frontline, that the possibilities of conflict in Europe are far greater than at any time since 1939.
If for any reason hostilities were to break out, UK ground troops will be involved from the get-go, there will be little room for political maneuvering in the initial phases. Just how long any hostile action would last is difficult to predict, all we can hope is some form of mechanism for an immediate cessation?
Uk Air Force jets only increase the tripwire dangers, and could exacerbate any scenario that could lead to a military exchange. However, there are no real alternative options, the UK is best served by strengthening the defense of Eastern Europe, as to do nothing could quickly see an erosion of liabilities and national identities in the Balkan States.
This all leads me to ask why does the UK Government continue to mess around with the defense budget, and threaten to sell off vital ships and fire highly trained marines, when its openly defending freedom in the East, which could so quickly result in an immediate need for all the defense assets we possess?
Baltic States – Estonia’s nowhere near the Balkans….
Yes, you are correct, when I said Balkans I meant Baltic, which I’m aware is geographically apart. It was a mental block. Sadly, it makes no difference to my prophetic worries about just how dangerous the situation is. Russia is not like any country we have fought against since WW2, and if provoked will spill a military bile across Eastern Europe, that will be catastrophic for all of us.
Provoked being the key word there. NATO should be very careful.