Two drones swoop near Estonian base housing US troops, 1 shot down

Two drones raised alarms in the southern region of Estonia on Oct. 17 when they appeared near the Reedo military barracks, resulting in one of the drones being shot down, according to an Estonian press report this week.

The base, home to Estonia’s 2nd Infantry Brigade, currently houses U.S. troops of the Army’s 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment.

Defense News requested a comment from U.S. Defense Department sources but had not received a response at the time of publication.

The drones appeared at 4:30 p.m. One was downed with an anti-drone rifle, Liis Vaksmann, Estonian Defense Forces Headquarters spokesperson, told Estonian outlet Postimees.

No details have been released regarding the model of the drones or whether U.S. forces played any role in shooting one down. Vaksmann told the press that the downed drone could not be located by Estonian authorities and had not been recovered.

The 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment is the first Army armored brigade combat team to be rotated to Estonia. It is intended to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank against aggression, and has been training regularly with Estonian Defense Forces.

In May, the U.S. troops conducted a large-scale exercise in which they boosted battlefield interoperability with Estonian troops.

“The U.S. Bradleys offered the unit commanders of both the 3rd Kuperjanov Battalion and Kalev Infantry Battalion experience for integrating them into their battle plans, so that they can together reach a conquering end in the battle,” Estonian Maj. Toomas Rein of the EDF’s 2nd Infantry Brigade Headquarters, said at the time.

At the end of August, American soldiers of the 5-7 Cav were presented with the NATO Kaitsel Medal by Kaimo Kuusk, permanent secretary of Estonia’s Defense Ministry in recognition of their assistance.

The appearance of the drones comes as the U.S. military is drawing down some forces from NATO’s eastern border, according to reports Wednesday . The Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division will not be replaced in Europe following its redeployment to the U.S.

“This is not an American withdrawal from Europe or a signal of lessened commitment to NATO and Article 5. Rather this is a positive sign of increased European capability and responsibility,” U.S. Army Europe and Africa said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, following the drone incident near Reedo barracks, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur issued a strongly worded statement Thursday confirming that American troops will remain in Estonia.

“We welcome the U.S. decision to continue its troop presence in Estonia. This confirms the importance of our strategic cooperation and the U.S.’s ongoing commitment to the defense of our region and NATO’s entire eastern flank,” Pevkur said in a release, adding that U.S. troops at Reedo are augmented by an additional U.S. tank unit at Tapa. He stressed that joint training exercises would continue.

“We are working to further strengthen the U.S. military presence in our region and are ready to make additional investments in the necessary infrastructure and expanded training opportunities to host our allies,” Pevkur said.

Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.

据本周爱沙尼亚媒体报道，10月17日，两架无人机出现在爱沙尼亚南部雷多军营附近，引发警报，其中一架无人机被击落。

该基地是爱沙尼亚第2步兵旅的驻地，目前驻扎着美国陆军第7骑兵团第5中队的部队。

《防务新闻》已向美国国防部消息人士请求置评，但截至发稿时尚未收到回复。

无人机于下午 4:30 出现。爱沙尼亚国防军总部发言人利斯·瓦克斯曼告诉爱沙尼亚媒体《邮报》，其中一架无人机被反无人机步枪击落。

目前尚未公布无人机的具体型号，也未说明美军是否参与了击落行动。瓦克斯曼告诉媒体，爱沙尼亚当局未能找到被击落的无人机，也未将其回收。

美国陆军第7骑兵团第5中队是首支轮换部署到爱沙尼亚的陆军装甲旅战斗队。其目的是加强北约东翼抵御侵略的能力，并一直与爱沙尼亚国防军定期进行联合训练。

5 月，美军进行了一次大规模演习，提高了与爱沙尼亚军队在战场上的协同作战能力。

“美国布雷德利战车为第3库佩尔亚诺夫营和卡列夫步兵营的指挥官提供了将战车融入作战计划的经验，以便他们能够共同取得战斗的胜利，”爱沙尼亚国防军第2步兵旅司令部少校托马斯·雷恩当时表示。

8 月底，爱沙尼亚国防部常务秘书凯莫·库斯克向美国陆军第 5-7 骑兵团的士兵颁发了北约凯特塞尔勋章，以表彰他们的援助。

据周三报道，无人机的出现正值美军从北约东部边境撤出部分兵力之际。第101空降师旅级战斗队在重新部署回美国后，将不会在欧洲增派兵力。

“这并非美国撤出欧洲，也不是美国对北约和《北约》第五条承诺减弱的信号。相反，这是欧洲能力和责任增强的积极信号。”美国陆军欧洲和非洲司令部周三在一份声明中表示。

然而，在里多兵营附近发生无人机事件后，爱沙尼亚国防部长汉诺·佩夫库尔周四发表措辞强硬的声明，确认美军将继续留在爱沙尼亚。

“我们欢迎美国决定继续在爱沙尼亚驻军。这证实了我们战略合作的重要性，以及美国对保卫我们地区和北约整个东翼的持续承诺，”佩夫库尔在一份声明中表示。他还补充说，驻扎在里多的美军部队得到了驻扎在塔帕的美军坦克部队的增援。他强调，联合训练演习将继续进行。

佩夫库尔表示：“我们正在努力进一步加强美国在该地区军事存在，并准备对必要的基础设施和扩大的训练机会进行更多投资，以接待我们的盟友。”

齐塔·巴林格·弗莱彻曾任《军事史季刊》和《越南》杂志的编辑，以及美国缉毒署的历史学家。她拥有军事史硕士学位（成绩优异）。