NATO
Multinational Corps Northeast
March 22, 2023
On March 19, the Tapa Military Base, Estonia, saw the transfer of authority ceremony from Britain’s own The King’s Royal Hussars to The Queen’s Royal Hussars (QRH) who took the helm of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Estonia. They will serve alongside the 13th Infantry Regiment with the French Foreign Legion, representing the Battlegroup’s contributing nation.
The QRH is the most senior armoured regiment in the British Army. Its personnel operate the Challenger 2 main battle tanks, providing armoured strength on the battlefield.
“Whilst we are a tank regiment, the Battlegroup will be a combination of heavy armour, motorised infantry, mechanised infantry, anti-tank troops, artillery and engineer assets.“
Aside from the British troops, the Battlegroup welcomed a new French contingent, now formed by the 13th Infantry Regiment (Demi-Brigade) of the Foreign Legion. It is reinforced by a squad of AMX 10-RC wheeled armoured vehicles, and platoons of engineers and artillery. For this rotation, the French Army deployed their leading-edge 6×6 wheeled armoured vehicles ‘Griffon’. The Commander of the French contingent, Major Jean-Christophe said:
“The new Griffon armoured vehicle with its on-board systems is among the most innovative and modern equipment operated by the French Army. Utilising these new assets, we will increase our interoperability with Allied forces in Estonia.
With that, the Battlegroup now consists of a total of more than one thousand soldiers from France and the framework nation Great Britain, supported by personnel from Denmark and Iceland. “This means that NATO troops of various capabilities are able to train and adapt to the terrain in Estonia and we can join the thousands of British, French and Danish soldiers who have learned how to operate on NATO’s Eastern flank,” Lieutenant Colonel Wilson, the Battlegroup Commander, summarised.
Anti-bellum 