The United Kingdom sent Apache helicopters to Estonia on Monday to join NATO drills and to enhance the UK military presence in the Eastern European nation, the UK government said in a statement
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2019) The United Kingdom sent Apache helicopters to Estonia on Monday to join NATO drills and to enhance the UK military presence in the Eastern European nation, the UK government said in a statement."3 Regiment Army Air Corps [3 Regt AAC] is deploying to the Baltics for three months, with Apache attack helicopters of 663 Squadron taking off from their base at Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk today," the statement stressed.
The corps specifically operate the Apache attack helicopters.
According to the UK government, the helicopters are expected to "provide valuable training opportunities" during Spring Storm drills that are scheduled to take place in Estonia between April 29 and May 10. Some 10,000 military personnel from NATO member states are expected to take part in the exercise, according to the data from the bloc.
The helicopters are also due to assist the UK-led battlegroup deployed on NATO's enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in the Baltic states, the bloc's military posture in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The UK government added that this deployment would increase the United Kingdom's presence in Estonia - known as Operation CABRIT - to around 1,000 people, and would make London "the largest contributor to eFP."
"The first deployment of Apache helicopters to Estonia underlines our position at the forefront of NATO. This is a world class machine operated by world class Army aviators and this deployment demonstrates our unwavering commitment to NATO's collective defence," UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, who watched the aircraft take off from the airfield, said in a statement.
Williamson, an avid critic of Russia, has repeatedly stated that the United Kingdom should boost its defenses to combat various Kremlin threats. In February this year he accused Moscow of "trying to goad the West into a new arms race." And roughly a year ago he made headlines after saying that Russia "should go away and shut up," while responding to reports that Moscow was planning to expel UK diplomats.
Moscow repeatedly dismissed Williamson's claims, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov once even branding the defense secretary as "minister of war."
