"One of the cornerstones of Estonia's security is our defenders' high motivation, preparedness and skillful performance in any viable scenario, backed by the necessary equipment, including various tech and ammunition," the prime minister said Tuesday.

"When we were coming to a coalition agreement, we agreed that enhancing defense capabilities, among other things the procurement of weapons and ammunition, as well as the development of training areas, was required," Michal continued via a government press release.

"All of this is needed to guarantee the confidence of the Estonian people," he went on.

The head of government made his remarks in the context of a meeting with soldiers from the EDF's Scouts Battalion (Scoutspataljon) which took place at the Central Training Area in Harju County, in which he acted as an observer at two different live-fire exercises

These exercises amply demonstrated the high level of professionalism among the Scouts Battalion personnel, the prime minister said.

He assured both the EDF's commander and the soldiers taking in the exercises that strengthening security and military defense, along with the necessary investments, remains a government priority.

That EDF commander is the newly installed Maj. Gen. Andrus Merilo, appointed to the post earlier this year as Gen. Martin Herem's term ended.

Also new to the job, Prime Minister Michal was making his first official encounter with the EDF chief, in an official capacity.

The Scouts Battalion is a highly mobile unit within the EDF's 1st Infantry Brigade, capable of independent combat operations with rapid reaction capabilities, and of professional training.

Maj. Gen. Andrus Merilo stated that live-fire exercises are the most complex form of training, in which units operate in concert, using various types of weapons and accomplishing objectives with live ammunition.

"The purpose of live-fire exercises is to provide soldiers with battlefield experience and how to inflicting as much damage as possible on the enemy, while avoiding harm to themselves and their colleagues," Merilo said.

"Providing quality training and conducting adequate live-fire exercises for armored infantry platoon soldiers is critical to Estonia's defense capability," the EDF commander added.

Scouts Battalion commander Lt Col. Ranno Raudsik was also on hand Tuesday to provide the prime minister with an overview of the exercises and of the tasks and operations of an armored infantry platoon

Lt Col. Raudsik said his soldiers are currently practicing various live-fire exercises, including FIBUA in pairs and in squads, as well as exercises utilizing the Swedish-made Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) armored vehicle.

The EDF is organized across two main brigades, 1st (North) and 2nd (South) plus support and other elements on land, as well as the Navy (Merevägi) and Air Force (Õhuvägi), which are not standalone services.

While the cornerstone of the 1st brigade had been heavy infantry units, mechanization has been ongoing so far as the 2nd brigade goes, too.

A light infantry role has been developed for EDF reservists, in tandem with the volunteer Kaitseliit (Defense League).

A British Army-led Battlegroup is also assigned to the 1st EDF brigade, and a British Army-led Brigade is held at high readiness in the U.K. ready to deploy to Estonia if needed, as the third Brigade within the EDF Division.

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