NATO Allies enhance readiness in Latvia exercise

  • 19 Sep. 2022 - 30 Sep. 2022
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  • Last updated: 29 Sep. 2022 12:45

From 19 to 30 September 2022, around 4,200 troops from 17 Allies trained in Latvia to enhance their ability to operate together as part of multinational exercise Silver Arrow 2022.

US High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) M142 deployed to Latvia as part of exercise Silver Arrow 2022 to demonstrate their ability to deploy rapidly in the defence of the Alliance.

Silver Arrow is a long-planned, regular annual exercise. NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Latvia took part in the exercise as part of Latvia’s Mechanised Infantry Brigade. US High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) M142 also deployed to demonstrate their ability to deploy rapidly in the defence of the Alliance. The US Army regularly deploys the system to the Baltics to train alongside NATO Allies. Should a crisis occur, US Special Operations Command Europe (US SOCEUR) will be able to rush HIMARS launchers nearly anywhere in Europe on short notice. The systems were flown to Rīga and Liepāja airfields with C-130 aircraft. During the live-fire exercise, they were used to shoot rockets on a target in the Baltic Sea waters of Latvia’s exclusive economic zone.

The exercise involved Albania, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.