The multinational military exercise Pikne culminated with live-fire training at Nursipalu training area, where reservists from the Artillery Regiment conducted fire missions using rocket launcher systems HIMARS and self-propelled artillery systems CAESAR.
“Exercise Pikne, which we are organizing for the second year in a row, allows us to practice our units for wartime tasks with our allies,” said Major General Indrek Sirel, Commander of the Estonian Division and head of the exercise Pikne. “Together with French units, we practiced how we can be quickly reinforced, if necessary, for example, by airlift. The presence of our allies increases our readiness and emphasizes the importance of cooperation in ensuring common security,” added Major General Sirel.
Reserve troops from the Artillery Regiment of the Estonian Division, who had been summoned to participate in the snap exercise Okas 25-2, were also involved in the live fire training of the exercise Pikne, in order to advance their skills.
“Yesterday and today, our reservists are firing from Estonia’s new weapon systems for the first time in Nursipalu,” said Colonel Marko Tomentšuk, Commander of the Artillery Regiment of the Estonian Division. “Training is important, it is necessary for mastering any weapon system. The more complex the weapon system, the more practice is needed, and this must be done in realistic conditions, in all weather conditions, in the dark and in daylight, in winter and in summer. Without a team, even the most modern weapon is just a burden, not a tool.”.
“My first impression of the self-propelled artillery system CAESAR is good, because it is simple, which meant that I was able to learn the system completely in just two days,” said Sergeant Georg Kokk, a reservist of the Artillery Regiment (Estonian Division). “What stands out the most to me as a team leader is that everything has become more electronic, meaning that control and communication are handled via tablet computers, so it’s not all so mechanical and physical.”
The main activities of exercise Pikne, which was condicted from September 18 to October 2 on land, at sea and in the air, were conducted mainly in western, northeastern, northern, and southeastern Estonia. The first week of the exercise focused on unit deployment and combat training, while on the second week, live fire training was conducted by Estonian and allied units at the Rutja and Nursipalu training areas, where at the latter, rocket launcher systems HIMARS, self-propelled artillery systems CAESAR, and French 120mm mortars were used.
As part of the exercise Pikne, the West Territorial Defence Region of the Estonian Defence League held the exercise Orkaan from September 18 to 28, of which reservists serving in the territorial defence took part in, whose task was to ensure the protection of important objects and checkpoints. The main objective of the exercise was to increase the combat readiness of the territorial defence units and improve their preparedness for wartime tasks.
Exercise Pikne was led by the Estonian Division, and in addition to units from the Estonian Defence Forces and the Estonian Defence League, allied units from France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Latvia, and Canada also participated in the exercise. Exercise Pikne was a defensive exercise involving a total of approximately 3,000 soldiers from Estonia and allied countries.
