NATO
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
June 22, 2022
France conducts Short-Notice Airborne Operation into Estonia
The French Armed Forces conducted Operation THUNDER LYNX, a force projection operation towards Estonia.
About a hundred paratroopers from the French 11th Airborne Brigade were deployed by an A-400M transport aircraft above the Estonian territory, to be dropped over a zone held by Estonian soldiers. This airdropping was followed by a joint tactical training maneuver between French and Estonian units.
Operation THUNDER LYNX highlights and illustrates the ability of the French Armed Forces to urgently deploy, at very short notice, in any time and any place, to support any NATO Allies in Europe.
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Bound by a Defence Agreement since 2012, France and Estonia have a dense bilateral military relation. The engagement of French units in NATO missions in Estonia, within the Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) and Enhanced Air Policing (eAP), have strengthened interoperability between the French and Estonian forces.
Anti-bellum 