UK: New infantry fighting vehicles to arrive in Estonia next year

TALLINN - United Kingdom's Minister for the Armed Forces, Alistair Carns, confirmed to Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur on Wednesday that the UK's new Ajax infantry fighting vehicles will arrive in Estonia next year.

"The UK's armed forces have been an excellent partner to Estonia, and it's great to see that they are modernizing their armored forces and introducing new infantry fighting vehicles. According to the minister, we can expect to see the new British Ajax fighting vehicles in Estonia as early as next year, which will strengthen Estonia's defense capabilities and Allied deterrence in our region," said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.

Following the meeting, the UK Minister for the Armed Forces will visit the United Kingdom unit stationed at the Tapa military base and attend a demonstration of the Ajax armored vehicles.

The United Kingdom is a long-standing defense cooperation partner for Estonia. The decision to deploy NATO battle groups to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland was made following the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw. The first NATO battle group arrived at the 1st Infantry Brigade in Tapa in April 2017. The United Kingdom is the framework nation for the Allied battle group serving in Estonia, with France also contributing units.