Washington sent two rocket systems along with a dozen personnel to support Latvia’s military exercises.
The U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command announced Sunday that it would send two High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) along with about a dozen personnel to Latvia, to participate in national readiness military exercises aimed by NATO.
The M142 HIMARS systems are scheduled to arrive in the Baltic state on Monday to take part in the autumn phase of the so-called NAMEJS exercises, which will last from September 5 to October 9. The American-made artillery systems will be used on September 26 and 27 to demonstrate the rapid deployment of long-range precision launches on NATO’s eastern border.
“NAMEJS is designed to increase readiness, lethality, modernization and interoperability by exercising the ability of the US Army in Europe and Africa to rapidly deploy long-range precision fire capabilities in coordination with our allies. and partners, and integrate joint fires in a multinational environment.” read a statement on the website of the command.
The exercises will reportedly also involve Spain’s National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) to provide anti-aircraft protection training, according to Captain Matiss Students, a NATO Air Force planning officer, who warned Latvian residents that there will be casualties. altitude military training flights in the eastern regions of the country during the exercises.
In addition to NAMEJS 2022, NATO intends to conduct additional exercises in the region under the name “Silver Arrow”. The US-led bloc announced that some 4,200 soldiers from 17 member states will participate in these exercises, which are intended to “strengthen the unity of ground and air forces” and improve their combat capabilities and readiness for “deter and defend”.
The exercises come as tensions between Moscow and NATO continue to grow amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. After Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization last week, seeking to recruit some 300,000 reservists into the Russian armed forces, several Baltic states and Poland have called for a greater NATO presence on the bloc’s eastern flank. .
Moscow, for its part, has warned that it will not hesitate to use “any means at your fingertips” to protect its territorial integrity and would respond in the same way if NATO decided to carry out an attack against Russia using nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction.