The King’s Royal Hussars of the British Army have taken over leadership of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup in Estonia from The Royal Welsh during the 11th rotation of UK troops in the Baltic State.
The transfer of authority took place at Tapa Camp, Estonia, and was attended by commanding officers and soldiers from the UK, Denmark, and France.
“As we conduct a planned rotation of forces in the eFP, we recognise the commitment and achievements of the outgoing British, Danish, and French soldiers over the last six months, and the security they provided to Estonia and the wider region,” eFP Estonia Headquarters Commander Col. Dai Bevan said.
“Op Cabrit is the name of the UK operational deployment to Estonia where British troops are leading a multinational Battlegroup as part of the eFP.”
King’s Royal Hussars Regiment
The King’s Royal Hussars is an armored tank regiment based in Salisbury Plain, England. The group commonly employs the Challenger 2 main battle tank as their principal defense capability.
During its second deployment to Estonia, the regiment was accompanied by Denmark’s Jutland Dragoon Regiment tank squadron, which uses the new Leopard 2A7 main battle tank.
The King’s Royal Hussars will include two tank squadrons, an armored engineer squadron, an anti-tank company, multiple launch rocket system and AS90 fire support batteries, and an air defense troop during its rotation.
The UK 1st Battalion Scots Guards will serve as the anti-tank company and equip their Mastiff patrol vehicles with the Javelin anti-tank missile system. Other elements of the battlegroup will utilize the next-generation light anti-tank weapon.
NATO eFP Battlegroup in Estonia
Comprising more than 1,200 troops, the new regiments will join the 1st Estonian Infantry Brigade in Tapa and 200 Les Loupes troops from the French Army’s 7th Battalion de Chasseurs Alpins.
Estonia’s eFP battlegroup will begin an intensive exercise by winter, according to Bevan.
Its first major interoperability training exercise, “Bold Hussar,” is scheduled for next month.
