Today, on May 11th, the Estonian Defence Forces exercise Spring Storm 2024 reached a phase where firing exercises and manoeuvres at squad and platoon levels have been successfully completed, and preparations are underway for military training battles.
The 2nd Infantry Brigade’s Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion is preparing for battles by fortifying defensive positions. Conscripts, reservists, and allied units are actively involved in establishing trench lines, firing positions, and firing sectors. Significant emphasis is placed on establishing and camouflaging heavy weapon firing positions.
“We started the day by practicing squad and platoon formations. Since we are a reserve unit, many things, such as squad attack drills and reacting to adversary’s fire, needed refreshing. After lunch, we have continued with establishing and obstructing positions and practicing the entire battle plan,” said Ensign Lauri Pähn, a platoon leader of the 2nd Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion, who is an entrepreneur in civilian life and a master’s student at Tallinn University of Technology. “The main battles will be tough, and we are mentally prepared for them. We have considered that we will have few hours of sleep in the coming days,” added Ensign Pähn.
Battle positions are also being prepared by the Danish 13th Infantry Battalion. “We have spent two days digging and preparing trenches. We are performing technical and tactical drills to ensure that the positions are as we want them to be when the adversary arrives,” said the Company’s Executive Officer, Master Sergeant Martin. “We have had excellent cooperation with the Estonian Defence Forces’ civil-military cooperation units and engineering units in preparing the trench line,” added the ally.
Spring Storm is the largest annual exercise of the Estonian Defence Forces, during which military operations planning and execution are practiced, as well as enhanced cooperation between Estonian and allied units. The exercise involves active-duty military personnel, conscripts, reservists, members of the Defence League, and participants from allied nations.
Spring Storm 2024 is part of the NATO exercise series Steadfast Defender 2024, representing a significant component of this extensive NATO exercise. Steadfast Defender 2024 is the largest NATO exercise in decades, with nearly 90,000 participants from all 32 member states participating over a six-month period from January to July 2024. The broader framework for the exercise has been set by confirmed NATO regional defence plans.
