This afternoon Defence Minister Jüri Luik met with US Air force Special Forces stationed in Estonia to discuss opportunities to intensify cooperation and received an overview of their activities and aircraft.
„I am glad to see the long-term and close cooperation between Estonian and US operators. The continuing presence of US Special Forces in Estonia is a strong sign of the US’ commitment and readiness to defend NATO and Estonia but also of our good bilateral relations,” said Luik, who added that it’s important to note that the unit is a strategic level capability, which specialises in operations under the US European Command.
The head of the US Air Force’s Special Operations Wing highly appreciated the cooperation with Estonians and the professionalism of the Estonian armed forces. „Our cooperation with the Estonian operators is impeccable, we can trust them even under the harshest conditions,“ said the mission commander of the 352nd Special Operations Wing forces in Estonia and noted that serving here grants them the opportunity to train in a different environment and that they regularly identify new training opportunities here in Estonia.
Defence Minister Luik noted during the meeting that the regular training between US and Estonian operators increases our deterrence capability and gives us the opportunity to train with the top-level allied soldiers enhancing our interoperability to respond to different threats.
Members of the US Air Force’s 352. Special Operations Wing are currently in Estonia to train together with Estonian operators and other units from the Estonian Defence Forces. They deployed together with the MC-130J Commando II transport plane and CV-22B Osprey plane which is able to take off vertically. The temporary deployment of US Special Operations Forces to Estonia is part of a routine procedure, whereby joint training is conducted with different allies.
In November and December US Special Forces aircrafts CV22B Osprey and MC-130J II will be flying in the Estonian airspace. The US 352. Special Operations Wing’s primary objective in Estonia is to train together with Estonian Special Forces to enhance interoperability among them.
Since 2014, a US Special Forces unit has been stationed in Estonia in response to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. In addition to the US Special Forces, a NATO battlegroup has been stationed in Estonia since 2017, consisting of forces from the United Kingdom, France and Denmark alongside with an Icelandic specialist stationed at the allied forces command.
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaitseministeerium_mod_estonia/albums/7215...
Additional information: [email protected]