The multinational exercise “Piken” took place in Estonia in December. Around 2,000 Estonian, French, American, Latvian and British armed forces practiced in the NATO-framework to respond quickly and effectively to threats in the Baltic region.
“The exercise clearly showed that we are ready to defend our country in the event of an emergency, together with our allies,” said Major General Indrek Sirel, commander of the Estonian armed forces and head of the “Pikne” exercise.
In the first week of the exercise, the main activities took place in the northern and north-eastern part of Estonia and in the Gulf of Finland. During this phase, the rapid deployment of troops to a conflict area, their integration into a multinational battle group and cooperation in countering threats on land, in the air and at sea were practiced. The second week of the exercise then focused on firing exercises at the Sirgala military training area.
Parallel to the “Pikne” exercise, the “Okas 24-2” short exercise was also held for the reservists of the engineer battalion (1st Infantry Brigade) and the air defense battery (Estonian Division). The air defense troops trained procedures for countering air threats, while the engineer units set up positions for units carrying out defensive operations.
https://militaeraktuell.at/internationale-einsaetze-plant-bundesheer-2025/ Laut Generalmajor Indrek Sirel war die Verbindung der beiden Übungen „sehr wichtig”. „Im Falle einer Eskalation der Situation vor Ort werden die Alliierten sofort Truppen nach Estland entsenden. Währenddessen müssen wir aber auch unsere eigenen Truppen mobilisieren, was während der Übung gut funktioniert hat.”
