Lithuania assisted ‘TRACTABLE’, a complex, large-scale movement by sea, rail, air and road of the British Army to reach its NATO deployment in Estonia.

“This rotation of our vehicle fleet presented a unique opportunity to test military mobility across Europe, and in doing so, demonstrate the UK’s commitment to the collective defence of Lithuania and our other NATO allies,” the UK Defence Attache to Lithuania, Major Thomas O’Boy said in a press release.

Increased military mobility has been a key focus of NATO in Europe, where by improving deployment speeds, the alliance hopes to better demonstrate deterrence against Russia.

Read more: Focus on military mobility marks shifting deterrence priorities in the Baltics

The move involved a wide variety of armoured, combat-ready vehicles from the UK and Germany to the UK enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup based in Tapa, Estonia.

TRACTABLE / Press release

The British 104 Logistic Support Brigade, in partnership with Lithuanian Railways, has been transloading a fleet of heavy armoured vehicles, which includes Challenger 2 main battle tanks, AS90 artillery weapons and Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, and on Wednesday were working alongside Lithuanian military and civilian colleagues to get the vehicles on their way.

Soldiers from the Queen’s Royal Hussars are due to take over the lead role in Estonia-based multinational NATO battalion from the King’s Royal Hussars.