Responding to a written parliamentary question from Liberal Democrat MP Will Forster, Pollard outlined the UK’s ongoing role in NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) initiative.
“Since 2017, the UK has been the Framework Nation to Estonia as part of the NATO construct, enhanced Forward Presence,” he said. The eFP initiative, established to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, “provides members of the Alliance positioned along the Eastern Flank of NATO (Host Nations) with bilateral guarantees from other NATO members.”
At the heart of the UK’s presence is an armoured battle group based in Tapa. According to the response, the force includes “up to 1,300 Service personnel and high-end warfighting capabilities,” with equipment including “the Challenger 2 Armoured Tank, numerous Anti-Tank capabilities, armoured infantry and artillery.”
Pollard also noted that the battle group benefits from additional divisional-level support assets, such as “Short Range Air Defence and long-range strike artillery.”
Following the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Alliance increased its support to host nations. Pollard explained that the UK had aligned its contributions with NATO’s new “Forward Land Forces” concept, agreeing to reinforce Estonia with up to a full brigade during periods of crisis.
“To date, the UK has achieved this through the allocation of 12 Armoured Brigade and associated capability,” Pollard said. “This year, 12 Bde are being replaced by 4 Bde, reinforced with an Aviation Task Force.” He added that this transition would be “showcased on Exercise HEDGEHOG, a Baltic-wide demonstration of the FLF construct.”
Although the number of troops in country at any one time has remained steady at around 700, the UK retains the ability to surge forces when necessary. The forward deployment model, Pollard stressed, reflects the UK’s commitment to deterrence and regional security.
The written answer did not provide specific figures for tanks or vehicles in theatre on the given dates, but highlighted that core capabilities, including Challenger 2 tanks and supporting systems, remain integral to the UK’s contribution.