Nearly 2,000 soldiers from 5 NATO states performed tasks on land, in the airspace of Estonia and in the Gulf of Finland as part of the multi-national “Pikne” exercises. 1 component of the training was shooting at “enemy” fighters from the portable anti-aircraft Piorun rocket set, which is an export hit of the Polish armory.
The script of the exercise "Pikne" (which in Estonian means lightning) assumed that in consequence to hostile action in north-eastern Estonia France sends its soldiers by air. French and British troops from the NATO Multinational Combat Group and the Estonian Reconnaissance Battalion are deployed on land. Their tasks include protecting designated areas and preparing for counterattack. erstwhile Estonia's airspace was breached by enemy fighters, it was targeted by Estonian soldiers reserve short-range air defence batteries, equipped with PTZR Lightning.
– At first we were worried about the weather, but it is simply a very pleasant autumn day, which is the perfect conditions for flying planes, but besides perfect for shooting them," said Edgar Tammus, a reserve from the air defence battery, during the recording for the authoritative media of the defence forces of Estonia. As part of a fake attack Polish Lightning were targeted in French Dassault Rafale fighters. These machines are active on NATO Air Police Mission, and their temporary base is located at the Saul airport in Lithuania.
The Lightning anti-aircraft kit is designed to combat helicopters, aircraft, unmanned aircraft and winged rockets. The rocket with the FRAG-HE warhead features a fuse equipped with a proximity sensor to harm the mark erstwhile it passes a short distance. The rocket set includes an additional daytime and thermal sight. It is besides equipped with a launch mechanism, thanks to which the operator can choose, among others, a pursuit-meeting mode or a kind of target. Missiles fired from Lightning can scope a tallness of 4000 m and harm targets within a distance of 6500 m. They're moving at 560 m/s.
PPZR Piorun is 1 of the flagship products of the company Mesko and the full Polish Armed Group. Thunderstorms are located in the magazines of the Polish army, but not only. Contracts for the supply of this weapon Mesko concluded, among others, with Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Georgia or the USA. Lightning came actual during the war in Ukraine. In 2022 Estonian Defence Investment Centre signed an agreement in Poland related to the acquisition of 300 rocket and 100 PTZR Piorun launch mechanisms.
The command of the “Pikne” maneuvers, which ended on 15 December, was taken over by the Estonian division, the largest unit of troops of the land defence forces of Estonia. Soldiers are trained, among others, in interoperability and fast consequence capabilities. During the exercises, Allied units were deployed in Estonia by land, sea and air to operate alongside the NATO Multinational Combat Group, the Estonian Defence Forces and the Estonian Defence League in a simulated war situation.
The exercises were part of the Natov's "Brilliant Eagle" surveillance programme, focused on expanding the deployment and cooperation of Alliance forces in the Baltic Sea region. Almost 2,000 soldiers from Estonia, Latvia, the USA, France and the United Kingdom took part in this year's maneuvers, carrying out tasks in the northern and north-eastern Estonia and in the Gulf of Finland.
