• Defence Notes

  Latvia says no to conscription

  20th March 2017

  Latvia has reaffirmed its commitment to meet NATO defence spending targets by next year but will not follow other allies in bringing back conscription, the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Estonia, Spain join EU SatCom Market

  3rd March 2017

  Spain and Estonia have joined the European Defence Agency's (EDA's) EU SatCom Market project, becoming the 21st and 22nd members to join the initiative, the …

• Land Warfare

  NATO nations to lead battalions in Baltic States

  4th November 2016

  At the NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels in October, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Canada, Germany, the UK and the US will lead with …

• Land Warfare

  Latvia orders RBS 70 missiles

  13th September 2016

  Saab has received an order from the Ministry of Defence of Latvia for the supply of RBS 70 man-portable air-defence system (MANPAD) missiles, the company …

• Land Warfare

  Russia to strengthen borders

  26th July 2016

  Russia is preparing a symmetrical response to the recent plans for a NATO deployment. NATO has announced that four battalions of alliance troops would be …

• Land Warfare

  RBS 70 NG in Exercise Baltic Zenith

  7th July 2016

  The armed forces of Lithuania and Latvia have trained with Saab’s RBS 70 and RBS 70 NG during the air defence exercise Baltic Zenith 2016, …

• Training

  Saber Strike 16 conducted in Baltics

  23rd June 2016

  US Marine Corps (USMC) troops from Combat Logistics Regiment 2 out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and Black Sea Rotational Force based in Romania participated …

• Naval Warfare

  HMS Pembroke participates in NATO exercise

  10th June 2016

  The British Royal Navy’s HMS Pembroke, a Sandown class minehunter, has participated in a NATO exercise, the navy announced on 7 June. The ship worked as …

• Land Warfare

  EDA places order for Carl-Gustaf ammo

  26th January 2016

  Saab has received an order for Carl-Gustaf ammunition from the European Defence Agency (EDA), announced on 25 January. The order falls under an existing five …

• Land Warfare

  Baltics modernise land forces

  25th January 2016

  Efforts to modernise the military capabilities of the Baltic countries are being accelerated. Lithuania has announced its plans for a spending increase this year and the …

• Land Warfare

  UK forces lead NATO exercise

  12th November 2015

  NATO Exercise Arrcade Fusion is underway in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania led by the British armed forces, the Ministry of Defence announced on 10 November. …

• Land Warfare

  Latvia orders Saab’s RBS 70 missiles

  23rd October 2015

  The Latvia Ministry of Defence has placed an order for RBS 70 missiles with Saab, the company announced on 22 October.  The deliveries under the …

• Digital Battlespace

  Lockheed Martin provides radars to Latvia

  6th October 2015

  Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract by the Latvian Ministry of Defence to provide three TPS-77 Multi-Role Radars (MRR) for use in air surveillance, …

• Digital Battlespace

  TRS delivers Sentinel radar

  2nd October 2015

  ThalesRaytheonSystems will deliver four enhanced Sentinel AN/MPQ-64 F1 air defence radars to Latvia, the company announced on 30 September.  Sentinel is a highly mobile, three-dimensional, …

• Digital Battlespace

  DSEI 2015: Russia threat spurs NATO air defence growth

  16th September 2015

  The increased threat posed by a resurgent Russia over the last two years has ‘heightened’ interest among eastern European states in NATO’s new air defence …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - micro, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  Latvian Drones (Ukraine Aid) [Latvia]

  Programme Background Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG) In January 2024, the Ukrainian Defence Contact Group (UDCG), a multi-nation organisation that coordinates military aid for Ukraine, established a ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Patria 6x6 CAVS [Latvia]

  Programme Background Programme History Estonia, Finland and Latvia's intention to jointly develop and procure a new APC platform was first announced in December 2019, when ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Patria 6x6 CAVS [Latvia - Batch 2]

  Programme Background Programme History Estonia, Finland and Latvia's intention to jointly develop and procure a new APC platform was first announced in December 2019, when ...

• Special operations vehicles

  MRZR 4 (Latvia)

  Programme Background The Latvian Armed Forces have identified a need for off-road tactical military vehicles that will help to increase the responsiveness of its expeditionary ...

• Special operations vehicles

  MRZR 2 (Forecast) (Latvia)

  Programme Background The Latvian Armed Forces have identified a need for off-road tactical military vehicles that will help to increase the responsiveness of its expeditionary ...

• APCs/IFVs - tracked

  ASCOD [Latvia]

  Programme Background Latvia began a selection process in early 2023 for a future IFV to replace its small fleet of ex-British CVR(T) tracked vehicles.  Seeking ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Bayraktar TB2 [Latvia]

  Programme Background Factory Visit On 7 June 2021, Baykar's official Twitter account announced that the Latvian Minister of Defence, Artis Pabrikis, had visited the Baykar ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Patria 6x6 CAVS [Sweden]

  Programme Background Programme History Estonia, Finland and Latvia's intention to jointly develop and procure a new APC platform were first announced in December 2019, when ...

• Military UAS - mini, Military UAS - rotary-wing

  30,000 FPV Drones (Ukraine Aid) [UK]

  Programme Background IDCC On 9 January 2025, the UK MoD announced that 30,000 FPV drones would be sent to Ukraine after the awarding of £45 million ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Patria 6x6 CAVS [Denmark]

  Programme Background  Programme History The Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme brings together Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Sweden to develop an armoured vehicle based on the ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Patria 6x6 CAVS [Finland]

  Programme Background Programme History Estonia, Finland and Latvia's intention to jointly develop and procure a new APC platform was first announced in December 2019, when ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Patria 6x6 CAVS [Finland - Second Order]

  Programme Background Programme History Estonia, Finland and Latvia's intention to jointly develop and procure a new APC platform was first announced in December 2019, when ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Patria 6x6 CAVS [Finland - Option]

  Programme Background Programme History Estonia, Finland and Latvia's intention to jointly develop and procure a new APC platform was first announced in December 2019, when ...

• Reconnaissance/patrol vehicles

  Surplus CVR(T) (Latvia)

  Latvia purchased several different variants of the CVR(T) including the FV103 Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicle, FV104 Samaritan armoured ambulance, FV105 Sultan command vehicle, FV106 Samson ...

• APCs/IFVs - 6x6

  Patria 6x6 CAVS [Germany]

  Programme Background  Programme History The Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme brings together Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Sweden to develop an armoured vehicle based on the ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Crew-served grenade launchers

  GMG

  Heckler & Koch developed the 40mm Grenade Machine Gun (GMG) to meet the requirements of the German Army. The GMG has been selected by users ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Carl-Gustaf M4

  The Carl-Gustaf M4 is a fourth-generation, lightweight 84mm recoilless rifle developed by Saab Dynamics in September 2014. It is a highly versatile shoulder-launched weapon system ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  Carl-Gustaf M3

  The Carl-Gustaf M3 is the third generation of the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless antitank gun, first fielded by the Swedish Army in 1946. Since then, it ...

• Individual assault/anti-tank weapons

  AT4/M136

  The AT4 is an 84mm shoulder-launched, disposable, preloaded, recoilless weapon, ballistically characterised by a combination of a flat trajectory and low dispersion, attained through high ...

• EO/IR systems

  Wescam MX-15

  The Wescam MX-15 is an L3 Harris EO/IR imaging system designed for covert surveillance, reconnaissance and search and rescue missions. The payload has been fitted ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-60L/M Black Hawk

  The Sikorsky UH-60/S-70 is a medium transport/utility helicopter that entered US Army service in 1979 as the UH-60A Black Hawk. It was succeeded in 1987 by ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  AW119

  The Leonardo AW119 first flew in 1995 and entered service in 2000. It is a military and civilian platform with an eight-seat cabin. The most ...

• Crew-served assault/anti-tank weapons

  FGM-148 Javelin

  The FGM-148 Javelin is a man-portable, fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system developed by the Lockheed Martin-Raytheon Javelin Joint Venture. Key features include fire-and-forget imaging ...