Royal Danish Embassy T. Kosciuskos 36, LT-01100 Vilnius Tel: +370 (5) 264 8768 Mob: +370 6995 7760 The Defence Attaché To Fax: +370 (5) 231 2300 Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania Newsletter for the Baltics Week 47 2017 The following information is gathered from usually reliable and open sources, mainly from the Baltic News Service (BNS), respective defence ministries press releases and websites as well as various newspapers, etc. Table of contents THE BALTICS ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Baltic States discuss how to contribute to fight against jihadists ............................................... 3 THE BALTICS AND RUSSIA .................................................................................................................. 3 Russian aircraft crossed into Estonian airspace ............................................................................ 3 NATO military aircraft last week scrambled 3 times over Russian military aircraft .................... 3 Belgian aircraft to conduct low-altitude flights in Estonian airspace .......................................... 3 Three Russian military aircraft spotted near Latvian borders ...................................................... 4 THE BALTICS AND EXERCISE .............................................................................................................. 4 Estonia’s 2nd Infantry Brigade takes part in NATO’s Arcade Fusion exercise ............................ 4 LITHUANIA .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Belgian Minister of Defence to conduct a visit in Lithuania ......................................................... 4 Lithuania celebrated Armed Forces Day ........................................................................................ 5 Lithuania expects breakthrough in talks on Baltic air defence .................................................... 5 Defence Minister says universal service impossible if defence spending stops at 2 pct. ........... 5 Lithuanian border guards to hold drills at border with Poland .................................................... 5 Bilateral Lithuanian-UK consultations on cyber security took place ........................................... 6 LATVIA ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Leadership of the defence sector thanks NATO eFP troops for service to Latvia ...................... 6 Latvian Foreign Ministry’s representative calls for strengthening of EU-NATO cooperation ... 6 Latvian army to buy nearly EUR 0.5 million worth of spare parts for armoured vehicles .......... 7 Pildegovics: PESCO creates greater synergy ................................................................................. 7 Bergmanis: Russian pranksters’ call to Spanish Defence Minister was no coincidence ............. 7 ESTONIA .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Estonia not planning to send more soldiers to Iraq ...................................................................... 8 Estonian President: NATO has been successful in adapting to new situation ........................... 8 9 offers qualify in procurement to buy automatic firearms for Estonia ...................................... 9 Commander of Belgian air component visits Amari base............................................................. 9 Estonian Navy celebrates 99th anniversary .................................................................................. 9 Four ambassadors NATO visit Tapa military campus .................................................................. 10 2 THE BALTICS Baltic States discuss how to contribute to fight against jihadists The three Baltic States are discussing how to contribute to the international community’s fight against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East. Lithuania is planning to send Special Operations Forces (SOF) troops to Iraq. Lithuania’s Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Zukas says that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have dropped plans to send a joint squadron of Special Operations Forces to Iraq, but they are currently discussing other forms of cooperation. Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis said that Lithuania and Latvia will likely contribute Special Operations Forces to the joint unit and Estonia will likely complement it with other capabilities. The forces should leave for Iraq early next year. THE BALTICS AND RUSSIA Russian aircraft crossed into Estonian airspace On 21 November, a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft crossed into Estonian airspace, the Estonian Defence Forces central headquarters said. The aircraft spent less than a minute in the Estonian airspace. Its transponder was on and flight plan submitted. The aircraft had no radio contact with the Estonian aviation service. The Estonian Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador and handed him a note over the airspace violation. This is the second time this year that a Russian aircraft has crossed into Estonia. Last year there were seven of such cases. NATO military aircraft last week scrambled 3 times over Russian military aircraft NATO air-policing military aircraft were last week scrambled three times from Lithuania to identify and intercept Russian military aircraft flying in the international airspace. Seven aircraft – three transport aircraft and four military aircraft – were intercepted above the Baltic Sea. Some of them had their onboard transponders switched off. Belgian aircraft to conduct low-altitude flights in Estonian airspace Belgian F-16 aircraft stationed at the Amari air base in north-western Estonia as part of NATO’s Baltic air policing mission will perform training flights in Estonian airspace from 20 to 24 November. The aircraft are to fly over Estonia in areas of low-altitude flying, at an altitude of at least 152 meters and preferably away from populated areas. 3 Three Russian military aircraft spotted near Latvian borders On 17 November, three aircraft of the Russian armed forces were spotted near Latvian borders, the Latvian National Armed Forces informed. Two Russian Su-27 aircraft and an Il-76 transport aircraft were detected flying over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea close to Latvia’s territorial waters. THE BALTICS AND EXERCISE Estonia’s 2nd Infantry Brigade takes part in NATO’s Arcade Fusion exercise On 21 November, a two-week exercise of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, Arcade Fusion 2017, which was also attended by soldiers of the Estonian Defence Forces’ 2nd Infantry Brigade, ended in Insworth, United Kingdom. Nearly 2,000 soldiers took part in the exercise and the main focus was on conventional warfare. Estonian Defence Forces’ 2nd Infantry Brigade was part of the Danish division, along with Germany’s 21th Armoured Brigade and Denmark’s 1st Infantry Brigade. LITHUANIA Belgian Minister of Defence to conduct a visit in Lithuania On 24 November, Minister of Defence of Belgium Steven Vandeput and a delegation of Belgium’s Members of Parliament are conducting a visit in Lithuania. The guests will meet with Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis, leadership of the Ministry of National Defence and the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Lithuania’s and Belgium’s defence ministers will hold a bilateral meeting, which will be followed by them visiting Belgian soldiers deployed in Lithuania as part of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Rukla. During the bilateral meeting the Ministers are planned to discuss the security situation in the Baltic Sea region, results of the NATO Defence Ministers meeting and further work, new initiatives in the format of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy, as well as bilateral defence cooperation of Lithuania and Belgium. 4 Lithuania celebrated Armed Forces Day On 23 November, Lithuania celebrated the Armed Forces Day and marked 99 years since the re- establishment of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The main event took place at the Cathedral Square in Vilnius, which included a line-up of Lithuanian and Allied troops, followed by a parade along Gedimino Avenue to the Independence Square. The line-up included troops of Lithuania’s Armed Forces and its units, NATO Allies, and the joint Lithuanian, Polish and Ukrainian brigade. The Lithuanian Armed Forces Day was also celebrated in other cities of the country. The event was attended by the country’s political leaders, including President Dalia Grybauskaite and Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis, military commanders, Ambassadors, Defence Attachés and other foreign diplomats. Lithuania expects breakthrough in talks on Baltic air defence On 22 November, Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis stated that Lithuania expects to achieve a breakthrough in NATO talks on the Baltic Sea region’s air defence principles by mid- 2018. Karoblis says that details on this issue are currently being worked out at the technical level, but he expects a breakthrough at the political level as well. “First of all, we want air defence to be included into forward presence defence plans, into working plans, and want it to be ensured through NATO Command Structure’s reform,” he said at a news conference on 22 November. Defence Minister says universal service impossible if defence