At a time when militaries around the world continue to ditch expensive, heavy, inflexible armored forces in favor of cheaper, lighter and more transportable combat vehicles, the Baltic state of Latvia has just picked up more than 100 surplus armored vehicles from the United Kingdom.

The British Ministry of Defense confirmed the deal earlier this month.

The sale comes at a time when Latvia—and its Baltic neighbors Estonia and Lithuania—find themselves facing the most significant threat to their security since their independence in 1990 and ’91.

In fact, Latvia and the United Kingdom drafted the armor deal back in February, perhaps with an eye on Russia’s activities in Crimea. The Latvian Ministry of Defense announced the transfer of 123 ex-British Army CVR(T) tracked armored vehicles on Feb. 27.

At the time, pro-Russian forces had already begun to occupy the Crimean peninsula, leading to its eventual annexation by Moscow.

As the British Army continues to withdraw troops and armor from Germany and streamline its forces, it’s shedding surplus equipment, like the CVR(T)s.

The CVR(T), or Alvis Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) is now four decades old. According to current manufacturer BAE Systems, 23 countries have bought a total of 3,500 of the vehicles since 1972.

The CVR(T) was produced in a range of variants to fulfill different tasks with the Cold War British Army. Those currently in service with the British Army include the Scimitar, a light reconnaissance tank armed with a 30-millimeter RARDEN cannon, and also the Spartan, an armored personnel carrier capable of carrying four soldiers.

The British Army also uses the Samson, an armored recovery vehicle equipped with a rear winch, the Sultan command-and-control vehicle and the Samaritan, an armored ambulance.

The Scorpion, a light tank armed with either a 76-millimeter or 90-millimeter main gun, is no longer in the United Kingdom’s arsenal but continues to serve with export operators.