BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

The President of the Republic of Estonia at the funeral of Junior Sergeant Herdis Sikka killed in Afghanistan

Dear friends, loved ones and brothers in arms of Herdis Sikka.

War has claimed the life of a young man.

Even the most carefully considered words would be of no consolation here.

But I want you to know this: Junior Sergeant Herdis Sikka fought for the right thing. He fought against evil and violence, for a safe, secure and successful Afghanistan, and more broadly for a more peaceful world. Herdis Sikka fought for Estonia’s security interests as a member of NATO, which is to say he fought in the interests of an alliance that is militarily strong, unified and successful in its operations.

Afghanistan – especially southern Afghanistan, where Estonian defence forces serve – is a dangerous location, extremely dangerous. If it were the opposite – a safe place – we would not be needed there. It would not be necessary for young men to make the courageous decision to quit their homes for the battlefield, nor would we need the support from the home front that makes it possible to deploy troops. Right now we need all of this badly.

Soldiers, I bow before your bravery.

I reaffirm to the members of the defence forces fighting in Afghanistan that you are not alone. Our allies from NATO and the UN are at your side, and Estonia’s support is at your back. Your homeland supports you.

Poland to end shift in NATO air policing mission in Baltic states

WARSAW - Polish pilots who patrolled the skies over Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia within the NATO Air Policing mission will conclude their mission on Wednesday, local media reported on Tuesday.

An official ceremony of the conclusion of the mission will take place at the Lithuanian air base in Shavle on Wednesday.

The Poles started their shift on April 30 when they took over the duties from French airmen. This was the third Air Policing mission for Poland. The contingent was formed by some 100 persons and four MiG-29 aircraft.

NATO introduced Air Policing in 2004 as an airspace safety measure for the Baltic states, which do not have combat aircraft.

Mission's tasks included carrying out of round-the-clock patrols of Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian air space and providing emergency aid for civilian and military aircraft in the region.

Poland previously took part in the Air Policing project in 2006 and 2008.

Tang Danlu

Estonian soldier killed in southern Afghanistan after insurgent ambush

Estonia's Defence Ministry says a soldier has died in southern Afghanistan after insurgents ambushed his unit.

The ministry says that Sgt. Herdis Sikka was killed Monday in an explosion while the unit was on a routine patrol in Helmand province.

The 20-year-old Sikka served as the driver of his unit's armoured personnel carrier.

Officials said Tuesday that no other soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The death brought the total of Estonian soldiers killed in Afghanistan to eight. The Baltic country has some 160 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led force.

Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press

Estonia buys APCs in largest-ever deal

TALLINN - Estonia on Aug. 26 announced its largest-ever military vehicle deal, buying more than 80 armored personnel carriers from fellow NATO member the Netherlands.

"The Estonian defense forces will buy over 80 Sisu XA-188 armored personnel carriers from the Netherlands," defense ministry spokesman Peeter Kuimet told AFP.

"The deal doubles the number of armored vehicles in the Estonian defense forces and is the biggest armored vehicle deal ever made (by Estonia)," he added.

Some of the vehicles will be sent to Afghanistan, where 155 Estonian troops are deployed in NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

The Finnish-made carriers are a decade old. Estonia also bought 60 used models directly from neutral neighbor Finland in 2004.

International naval exercise "Baltic Bikini 2010" opened in Klaipeda

The international naval exercise"Baltic Bikini 2010" was opened in Klaipeda on July 26. More than 70 airborne personnel of the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Air Forces take part in the training event, reports BC the press service of the National Defence Ministry of Lithuania.

During the exercise, aircrews will train to abandon an aircraft after ditching, and drill their skills of using rescue equipment.

In the active phase, aircrews will rely on their own strength and rescue equipment at hand to dive out of the cockpit of an imitation aircraft submerged two meters under water. The cockpit will be lowered from a ship following the pattern of ditching. After that participants will use rescue equipment to stay on water surface for around an hour waiting for the rescue helicopter.

"Baltic Bikini" is organised by the Lithuanian Air Force, logistics of the exercise will be conducted by P-14 "Aukstaitis" of the Lithuanian Naval Force. Mi-8 on standby in the 1st Search and Rescue Post of Nemirseta will also participate in the exercise. Personnel of each Baltic State prepared for the exercise in their home countries. In the end of June airborne personnel of the Lithuanian Air Force's Airbase trained in Lake Gudeliai near Siauliai City.

Estonia spends more on national defense than Latvia or Lithuania

From among the three Baltic States, Estonia spends the largest amounts of money on national defense, writes LETA/Postimees Online. Estonia would be able to mobilize the biggest army among the Baltic States during the times. Lithuania, on the other hand, has the most-developed air force.

Researcher of the International Centre of Defense Studies Tomas Jermalavicius explained the differences with Estonia and Lithuania having drawn different conclusions from the events of the year 1939. Lithuania had beforehand spent immense amounts of money on national defense, which had no impact on the maintaining of independence and hence Lithuanians have perceived the events as a military failure. Estonians, on the other hand, view the 1939 events as a political failure and hence put much more confidence in the military capacity.

"It is simple – the Estonian society is prepared to pay for national defense," said Jermalavicius.

Although it spends more on national defense than its Baltic neighbors, it cannot be stated that Estonia spends a lot on this area – the fact is rather that Latvia and Lithuania spend extraordinarily little on national defence, being among the lowest-spending countries among the NATO Member States.

Unlike Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have also abandoned the reserve army system, maintaining professional armies and the voluntary military organizations.

Juhan Tere

US Marines storm Estonian beachhead in exercise

LOKSA - United States Marines are conducting their first amphibious landing exercise in a territory that was once part of the Soviet Union.

In Tuesday's joint military exercise some 130 combat-ready marines, along with Estonian troops, disembarked from the transport vessel USS Gunston Hall to occupy a beach near the town of Loksa on Estonia's eastern coast.

The head of the U.S. Marine Corps in Europe said it was the first time Marines had carried out such an amphibious landing on the Baltic Sea. It took place just 140 kilometers (90 miles) from the Russian border.

Estonian Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo said the drill represented a pledge from the United States and other NATO allies to provide security for Estonia and its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Lithuania.

Airmen participate in Unified Engagement 2010

TALLINN - U.S. Air Forces in Europe officials joined representatives from seven other countries here to participate in Unified Engagement 2010, which started June 7 and continues through June 11.

The Unified Engagement seminar is the fourth Building Partnership Seminar USAFE officials have conducted with European partners as a transformation war game to explore future combined warfighting concepts and capabilities.

The U.S. delegation led by Gen. Roger A. Brady, the USAFE commander, is working with counterparts from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden to strengthen relationships, and improve interoperability and future cooperation.

"These meetings have been good for us and our allies and have proven productive and valuable," General Brady said. "These sessions serve as effective discussions and are opportunities to share ideas, and for military professionals, particularly air forces, to share their perspectives."

General Brady said the relationships established and the work accomplished at the seminar will allow everyone to come together quickly in crisis and effectively face the challenge.

"Because of training seminars like Unified Engagement, the U.S. Air Force and our partners worldwide are better prepared for future operational challenges," the general said. "Estonia is a great NATO partner and they are graciously hosting this meeting."

U.S. and European military to discuss air defence cooperation

U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) top brass will attend a Building Partnership Seminar under the Unified Engagement series in Estonian capital, Tallinn, on June 7-11.

A U.S. delegation led by USAFE Commander, General Roger A. Brady, will join military officials from seven European countries to discuss interoperability and future cooperation.

The event, co-hosted by USAFE and the Estonian Defense Ministry, is the third such seminar held in Europe. Other participants this year include Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.

Estonia has been a full member of the NATO since 2004.

The Unified Engagement series is a wargame designed to explore future joint warfare concepts and capabilities.

Over 3,000 personnel take part in NATO naval drills in Baltic Sea

Over 3,000 servicemen from different countries are taking part in the international Baltops-2010 naval exercises, which began on Sunday in the Baltic Sea, Latvian Defense Minister Imants Liegis said.

The Baltops exercise has been held annually since 1994 within the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace Program. It is aimed to promote a mutual understanding of maritime interoperability between U.S. Navy, NATO, and non-NATO participants.

This year, the exercise is being held in Latvia and Estonia and involves servicemen from the U.S., Belgium, Estonia, Denmark, France, Latvia, the U.K., Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Germany and Sweden.

A total of 36 vessels, two submarines and other military vehicles are taking part in the drills.

Russia is participating in the drills as an observer.

Baltic states to hold joint military exercises

Tallinn - Baltic NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will hold regularly scheduled joint exercises next week, preparing them to host allied forces, the Estonian defence ministry told AFP Monday.

"It's a lot of coordinating and training logistical cooperation but not only," Estonian defence ministry spokesman Peeter Kuimet said.

"We will also train joint actions on crisis management and look at how legislation in Baltic states is prepared for such cases," he added.

The exercises dubbed Baltic Host involve the three Baltic countries and the US European Command and will run from May 31 to June 4.

Civilian officials from police, emergency search and rescue, Baltic sea ports, railways and airports that could be involved in receiving allied forces will also be involved in the exercises, Kuimet added.

Having lost their independence to the Soviet Union during World War II, the three Baltic states re-emerged as sovereign states in 1991 and joined NATO in 2004.

Copyright FOCUS Information Agency

Estonia will gain simplified access to NATO software

Today the Estonian Ministry of Defence and NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) signed a treaty granting Estonia simplified access to all NATO developed information and communication technology solutions.
Martin Hurt and Georghes D’hollander signing the agreement.

The co-operation treaty was signed by Estonian MoD’s permanent undersecretary for defence investments Martin Hurt and NC3A’s director Georges D’hollander. The treaty facilitates Estonia’s access to NATO developed communications, command and control, intelligence and surveillance software. D’hollander also met with Minister of Defence Jaak Aaviksoo with whom questions regarding the agency’s future were discussed.

Aaviksoo stated that the contract signed today serves to further develop the Defence Forces’ communications and intelligence gathering systems, which are among the priorities of the Long Term Defence Development Plan for the 2009-2018 period.

“To make proper and adequate decisions on a modern battlefield, our national defence capability must on the one hand encompass necessary intelligence capabilities as well as modern communications equipment to transfer information to the executors of decisions.

Estonia will send a ship crew to fight pirates

The completed military operations in Iraq and Kosovo have freed enough means for Estonia to be able to participate from the end of 2010 in the European Union anti-piracy operation ATLANTA with a ship protection crew, LETA/National Broadcasting reports.

The Estonian crew or Vessel Protection Detachment (VPD), will participate at the operation in cooperation with Germany, on board a ship that belongs to Germany, said Estonian defence minister Jaak Aaviksoo at the EU defence ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.

The Estonian VPD consists of up to 12 members and its main task will be to board UN food aid ships that pass through the operation area and provide them security till they exit dangerous waters.

The crew is subject to the commander of the German ship and its aim will be to prevent piracy and detain pirates in Somalia’s coastal waters.

NATO to debate future of nuclear arms in Europe

TALLINN - NATO ministers meeting in Estonia on Thursday will debate the future of battlefield nuclear weapons and relations with Russia after Washington and Moscow agreed a major arms reduction treaty this month.

The U.S.-Russian deal would cut the number of deployed long-range, "strategic" nuclear warheads by about 30 percent and is part of a broader effort by the administration of President Barack Obama to boost ties with America's former Cold War foe.

Attention now turns at a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Tallinn to the estimated 200 operational battlefield, or "tactical," nuclear bombs stationed with U.S. and allied air forces in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey.

Germany's ruling coalition, which is also keen to boost ties with Moscow, committed in November to withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from German territory, and in February, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and Luxembourg called for a debate about their future in Europe.

While the U.S. administration wants in future to address the issue of battlefield nuclear weapons, which many analysts consider obsolete in the post-Cold War world, it has yet to state publicly its position. It has, however, stressed that any decision must be agreed by all 28 NATO states.

Russia, meanwhile, says it will not start destroying its massive superiority in the weapons until Washington removes its bombs from Europe, a prospect worrying to former Soviet bloc states that are now part of NATO.

Volcanic ash not affects NATO operations

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday that the alliance's operations had not been negatively affected by volcanic ash from Iceland, which has caused an unprecedented airspace shutdown in large parts of Europe.

Fogh Rasmussen told a monthly press conference that "I can assure you that the Icelandic volcano does not have any effects on, neither our operations nor our territorial defence of allied member states."

It reported that several NATO F-16 fighters suffered engine damage after flying through the volcanic ash cloud. Fogh Rasmussen said that he had no information on that.

The foreign ministers from NATO member states are schedule to convene in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on Thursday and Friday. However, while the flight ban continues in many European countries, the meeting would probably be canceled or postponed.

"For the moment, the meeting is still on. We are waiting to see if some of the flight restrictions will be eased today, and if so, what that will mean for the meeting. If changes need to be made, we will announce them tomorrow. But for now, preparations continue as before," Fogh Rasmussen said.

Source: Xinhua

Nato allies are Baltic states’ eyes in the sky

ZOKNIAI AIR BASE - Colonel Sebastien Vallette swings back in his desk chair, minutes after landing his Mirage fighter on a Soviet-era runway.

A detailed map on his wall shows Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, flanked by bold warnings: “Do Not Enter Russian Airspace”.

For six years, Nato allies have taken turns patrolling the airspace of the three Baltic states, minnows which won freedom from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991 and have testy ties with Moscow.

Vallette and six other French flyers under his command are the current eyes in the sky.

“The point about airspace sovereignty is to know who’s doing what in it,” Vallette told AFP at Zokniai, a huge, mostly-mothballed facility in northern Lithuania where 20,000 Red Army troops were once based.

“It’s a combination of deterrence, protection, prevention and assistance,” he added.

Vallette acknowledged Baltic history is “complicated”, but rejected suggestions his job is about warning the resurgent Kremlin, which only withdrew its forces in 1994.

“Everyone wants to put Russia in focus, but there isn’t a special focus,” he insisted. “All countries conduct surveillance in their national airspace. There isn’t a concept of a particular threat.”

The Baltic trio joined Nato on March 29, 2004. The air patrols began immediately.

NATO aircrews that will take part in NATO air training event meet in Tallinn International Airport

On March 17 NATO Allied Air Component Command Headquarters Ramstein (Germany) will hold the Baltic Region Training Event (BRTE V) in airspace of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to the end of drilling completion of NATO Baltic Air-policing tasks and improving abilities of contingents performing the mission.

According to the scenario of the event, on March 17 two "Mirage" 2000C of the French Air Force, two F-16 of the Polish Air Force , two L39 "Albatross" light assault aircrafts of the Lithuanian Air Force, and one CASA C-295M transport aircraft of the Polish Air Force will land in Tallinn International Airport to refuel and undergo thorough examination.

On March 17 at 10.00-13.30 media opportunity is planned. Representatives of media will be able to ask NATO aircrews and commanders questions, and take photo/video footage of aircrafts participating in the event.

No transport will be available to Tallinn. Air operations of the event will be conducted at 6 thousand kilometres height not visible from the ground.

All material for media is provided in: www. airramstein.nato.int. 

Estonia and defence spending

Why does Estonia spend so much more on defence than Latvia and Lithuania and is it a good idea, asks Edward Lucas, correspondent for The Economist, in his blog.

Lucas continues: cynics say that Estonia can't be credible in defence if the other Baltic two have in effect given up. Estonia should stop bothering with even vestigial territorial defence and concentrate solely on international obligations. I think that would be a big mistake. Defence spending is about credibility, both in military and political terms. Trying to meet the 2% of GDP target shows the Estonian people that the state is serious about defence (and therefore serious about other things. It also signals that to the outside world.

In a related post, Lucas referred to an article by Kurt Volker, the former US Ambassador to NATO, where he praises Estonian defence thinking and that is published below.

A small country has its advantages, if it knows how to use them. With less bureaucracy and fewer actors, most of whom have known each other for years, a small country can sometimes be more nimble and strategic than a large one. Of course there can be disadvantages and vulnerabilities as well – but that’s where smart policy can help.

In the 1990’s, it was far-reaching economic reform that rapidly made Estonia a candidate for EU membership, and now sensible stewardship puts it at the head of the pack in seeking to join the Euro. Today, it is also a security policy that balances “home” and “away,” civilian and military, and Russia and the East, in a manner that anticipates what NATO itself must do.

NATO air forces to train over Baltic countries

BRUSSELS — NATO air forces will conduct an exercise later this month over the Baltic states, which have been alarmed by the fast-improving ties between the alliance and neighboring Russia.

The training March 17-20 over Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will involve French Mirage 2000 and Polish F-16 fighters and U.S. aerial tankers, Lt. Col. Thomas Dillschneider, spokesman for the Allied Air Headquarters in Ramstein, Germany, said Tuesday.

The mission — the latest in a series for fighter units patrolling the area — aims to "demonstrate solidarity with NATO's Baltic members," Dillschneider said.

NATO has kept a rotating detachment of fighter jets for air policing duties in the Baltics since the three countries joined the alliance in 2004. None of them possess the fast jets required for such tasks.

Relations between NATO and Moscow were frozen after Russia's 2008 war with Georgia, but have improved significantly under the Obama administration, which has sought to enlist Russia's assistance in the escalating war in Afghanistan.

The improvement, however, has put Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia on edge, for they see neighboring Russia as a regional security threat.

Cooperation between Estonia and France is very good at the NATO and European Union level

Stenbock House – Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Pierre Lellouche, French Secretary of State for European Affairs, who is on a visit to Estonia, concluded at their meeting today that the cooperation between the two countries is very good at the NATO and European Union level.

The Prime Minister thanked the French representative for the participation of French fighter aircraft in the Estonian Independence Day parade on 24 February. “It is a visible sign of the fact that NATO is here and it means a lot to our people,” said Ansip. Since the beginning of January, France has been providing security for the airspace of the Baltic States with four Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft.

Another topic that was discussed at the meeting was the state of the economy of the European Union. French Secretary of State for European Affairs Pierre Lellouche recognised Estonia’s conservative budget policy. “It is very admirable,” said Mr. Lellouche. Prime Minister Ansip reconfirmed Estonia’s ambition to join the Eurozone on 1 January of next year and stressed that we meet in a sustainable way all of the financial and price stability criteria necessary for joining the Eurozone.