France sending more forces to Estonia

The French airforce are on rotation at Ämari Air Base as part of the NATO Air Policing Mission.
The French airforce are on rotation at Ämari Air Base as part of the NATO Air Policing Mission. Source: (Ardi Hallismaa)

France will send additional troops and fighter jets to Estonia in March to strengthen the NATO eFP battlegroup, President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday.

The country will bring forward the arrival of fighter jets and troops initially planned for April.

An additional 200 troops will be sent to Tapa to join the 300 hundred already stationed at the base.

There are currently almost 1,300 troops in the Estonian battlegroup from the UK, France, Denmark and Iceland. The Belgian Air Force is currently stationed at Ämari Air Base as part of the NATO air policing force.

The UK has also doubled its deployment sending an additional 800 soldiers which have already started to arrive. The U.S. has sent fighter jets to Estonia.

The eFP rotates its troops every six months but this year allies have agreed to lengthen deployments, keeping both units in the region at the same time.

NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Source: NATO

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Editor: Helen Wright

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