Britain's Royal Tank Regiment takes over as NATO battlegroup lead unit
The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) Battlegroup of the British Army has officially taken over as the lead unit of NATO's Multinational Battlegroup Estonia.
The RTR was handed the baton as lead unit at a formal ceremony at Tapa Camp, Lääne-Viru County, from 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment.
The handover marks the 17th rotation of Operation CABRIT, the U.K.'s contribution to NATO's Forward Land Forces in the Baltics, and was commemorated with an address by Lt Col. Luson, Commanding Officer RTR, who emphasized the critical role of the deployment in deterring aggression against Estonia and NATO.
1 Mercian Battlegroup has returned to the UK after six months in Estonia.
The RTR, motto "Fear Naught," is the world's oldest tank regiment, having been formed in 1916, shortly after the first tanks had been developed. Since then it has played a pivotal role in numerous conflicts, including the Second World War, the Gulf War, and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The regiment has served on rotation in Estonia in the past, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine from February 2022.
Operation CABRIT is the U.K.'s commitment to NATO's Forward Land Forces and since becoming the framework nation in Estonia in 2017, their contribution has expanded from a single battlegroup to a broader commitment including the Forward Land Forces Brigade, held at readiness in the U.K. to deploy, and Task Force CABRIT, which supports 1 Estonian Division of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) with intelligence, planning, and long-range fire.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte
