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On Friday, July 31, a ceremonial handover and a medal ceremony took place in Ämari Air Base, Estonia, during which Portuguese Air Force personnel, who had been patrolling the airspace of the Baltic states, handed over the surveillance to Turkish Air Force personnel, who will now begin providing air defence in the region with their F-16 fighter aircrafts.

On Monday, June 22, the Estonian Air Defence Wing received the first mobile air defence missile systems IRIS-T SLM (InfraRed Imaging System Tail/Thrust vector-controlled Surface-Launched Medium range) at Ämari Air Base, giving the Estonian Defence Forces the ability to engage air threats from greater distances and altitudes than the existing short-range systems. The system was procured by the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI) from the German defence company Diehl Defence.

The multinational NATO medical exercise Vigorous Warrior 2026 concluded today in Estonia after bringing together military and civilian medical systems to train medical support in crisis and wartime conditions. Held from 8 to 20 June, the exercise involved participants from around 30 Allied and Partner nations, and was organized by the Hungary-based NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine in cooperation with the Estonian Defence Forces and the Estonian Health Board.

On Friday, June 12, NATO’s multinational medical exercise Vigorous Warrior 2026 entered its active phase, during which the allied and partner nations are training together in Estonia to ensure military medical support, enhance interoperability between medical units, and implement innovative medical solutions.

On Wednesday, June 10, a two-day A2/AD (Anti-Access/Area Denial) seminar organized by the NATO Force Integration Unit Estonia (NFIU Estonia) in Tallinn, Estonia, concluded. The event opened with a keynote address by the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Andrus Merilo, and brought together more than 100 representatives from NATO nations to discuss developments, challenges, and opportunities related to A2/AD in the Baltic Sea region and beyond.

From June 8 to 20, Estonia will host the NATO medical exercise Vigorous Warrior 2026. Organized by the Estonian Defence Forces, the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine and the Estonian Health Board, the exercise will train multinational medical support and civil-military cooperation in a realistic operational environment. Activities will take place primarily in Harju and Lääne-Viru counties.

On Monday, June 1, the Estonian Defence Forces concluded the largest exercise of the year, Spring Storm 2026. At its peak, the exercise involved more than 12,000 troops from Estonia and Allied countries, bringing together military personnel from various countries to jointly practice defending Estonia on Estonian soil and, for the first time, in northeastern Latvia. The primary training audiences of the exercise were the 2nd Infantry Brigade (Estonian Division) and Regional Command South (Estonian Defence League).

On Thursday, May 28, as part of the live-fire phase of the exercise Spring Storm 2026 at the Estonian Defence Forces’ Central Training Area, artillery units from Estonia, France, and the United Kingdom conducted a joint live-fire exercise to support the manoeuvres of the 2nd Infantry Brigade during their live-fire exercise.

At noon of May 19, 2026 an unmanned aerial system entered Estonian airspace from Russian airspace in the South-Eastern corner of Estonia, heading towards North-East. The unmanned aerial system was likely of Ukrainian origin. 

From May 10–17, during the combat enhancement and force integration training (CET/FIT) phase of the exercise Spring Storm 2026, reservists will practice both offensive and reconnaissance operations using unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as defence against unmanned aerial vehicles. In addition, units will collaborate with defence industry companies to test new technological and tactical solutions in the field of unmanned systems.