"It's important to support our ally": Tiny Royal Navy P2000 ships deployed to Estonia amid Russia pressure
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British sailors are training alongside Estonian forces in the wake of mounting pressure from Russia.
Four Royal Navy P2000 patrol vessels took part in a passage drill in Tallinn Bay last week as part of Exercise Tarassis. HMS Puncher and Dasher, based in Portsmouth, have been working alongside HMS Pursuer and Express during various Nato missions in the Baltic.
The Archer-class vessels were placed under Estonian command for the passage exercise, where partner nations operate in company to deliver training serials such as joint manoeuvres and rafting. Personnel were tested on their ability to work alongside each other in harmony. EML Ugandi, former Royal Navy minehunter HMS Bridport, was at the helm of the operation.
Lieutenant Edward Winter, Commanding Officer for HMS Express, said: “It was great to operate alongside the EML Ugandi and meet the ship’s company. In so doing, we demonstrated the UK’s resolve to support our NATO allies.”
Estonia is one of the nations assigned to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), which is a UK-led military partnership of northern European nations. These include the UK, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. It’s designed for rapid response and expeditionary operations in northern Europe, focusing on security in the region.
The Baltic nation has been put under increasing pressure by Russia in recent weeks. Three MiG-31 fighter jets entered the country’s airspace "without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes" over the Gulf of Finland, the government told the BBC on September 19. Italy, Finland, and Sweden, all scrambled fighter jets in response.
A Nato spokesperson described this as “yet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and Nato's ability to respond”. Moscow denied this and accused Tallinn of having no evidence to support the claims. Exercise Tarassis is continuing in the midst of this - one of the most ambitious operations being conducted by JEF. The alliance said on its website that the airspace violation highlighted the importance of multi-national security collaboration in the region.
Activities began in early September and will run until mid-October. Thousands of troops, sailors, and aviators, have been involved alongside dozens of warships and aircraft - spanning the North Atlantic, Scandinavia, and Baltic Sea region.
Major Steven Maguire, the UK’s deputy defence attaché in Tallinn, said the UK is a long-standing ally of Estonia and the joint naval exercise underlines the UK’s ongoing support of wider regional security and international alliances.
“One hundred years ago the Royal Navy stood shoulder to shoulder with Estonia in its war of independence and that support has never wavered,” he added. “Today we see more and more violations of this nation’s sovereignty and so it’s important that we continue to support our NATO ally.”