The Estonian Navy minehunter EML Ugandi and the force defence boat EML Roland, as well as the Air Force training jet, practiced cooperation with the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) fighter HMS Diamond in the Baltic Sea.
“The purpose of conducting cooperative exercises with the ships of the Joint Expeditionary Force is to train our willingness to cooperate and thereby ensure the rapid deployment of the ships of the British-led operation to Estonia in order to jointly respond to a potential threat in cooperation with our units, if necessary,” said Commodore Jüri Saska, Commander of the Navy.
According to the scenario, HMS Diamond escorted the Estonian Navy minehunter in a hostile environment, providing him with security for the surrounding threats. The task of the troop defense boat and the training jet was to conduct asymmetric attacks on both ships in a coordinated manner.
The main focus of the cooperation exercise was the creation of a seascape identified by all parties, the sharing of information, and communication in the event of a surface water and air threat. It was also important to share air contacts between HMS Diamond and the Estonian Air Force Air Operations Command Center.
The HMS Diamond is a Daring-class fighter with anti-aircraft capabilities of the Royal Navy of Great Britain entering service in 2011. The ship is equipped with special types of anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, aerial surveillance radar and helicopter.
The Joint Expeditionary Force is a coalition initiated and led by Great Britain in 2014, which includes Estonia, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and, as of April last year, Iceland. The coalition will focus on the security of the Baltic Sea region, the High North and the North Atlantic region, ready to respond quickly to regional security threats if necessary. If necessary, the Joint Force can be quickly integrated with NATO or other international security forces.