NATO’s multinational brigade in Estonia recently mobilised for their host nation’s national defence drills.
Spring Storm, Estonia’s largest annual military exercise, saw brigade troops join with Estonian and French forces to repel a simulated invasion. This ensures that, should a crisis arise, Estonian and NATO forces will be able to seamlessly integrate and defend every inch of Allied territory.
British Army troops also used a new Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) during the exercise for the first time. The AR3 Evolution is a reconnaissance drone manufactured in Portugal. During Spring Storm, British Army artillery used it to spot targets for simulated fire missions. The system can be launched by hand in austere environments.
Footage includes shots of British Army troops in action during Exercise Spring Storm, and British Army troops launching the AR3 UAS during the exercise, as well as interview with artillery troopers.
--SHOTLIST—
(00:00) WIDE SHOTS – ARMOURED VEHICLES, INCLUDING WARRIORS FROM THE BRITISH ARMY’S 1ST BATTALION OF THE ROYAL WELSH, TAKE PART IN EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(00:13) WIDE SHOT - ARMOURED VEHICLES FROM THE FRENCH ARMY TAKE PART IN EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(00:24) VARIOUS SHOTS – ARMOURED VEHICLES, INCLUDING WARRIORS FROM THE BRITISH ARMY’S 1ST BATTALION OF THE ROYAL WELSH, TAKE PART IN EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(01:08) VARIOUS SHOTS - SOLDIERS AND ARMOURED VEHICLES FROM THE 1ST BATTALION OF THE ROYAL WELSH TAKE PART IN EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(02:33) WIDE SHOT - ARMOURED VEHICLES FROM THE FRENCH ARMY TAKE PART IN EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(02:48) WIDE SHOT - SOLDIERS FROM THE FRENCH ARMY WALK DOWN A ROAD ALONGSIDE BRITISH ARMY ARMOURED VEHICLES FROM THE 1ST BATTALION OF THE ROYAL WELSH, DURING EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(03:00) WIDE SHOTS – ARMOURED VEHICLES, INCLUDING WARRIORS FROM THE BRITISH ARMY’S 1ST BATTALION OF THE ROYAL WELSH, TAKE PART IN EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(03:11) VARIOUS SHOTS - BRITISH ARMY CHALLENGER 2 MAIN BATTLE TANKS TAKE PART IN EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(03:28) VARIOUS SHOTS - BRITISH ARMY SOLDIERS, FROM THE ROYAL ARTILLERY, PREPARE TO LAUNCH THE AR3 DRONE, AS PART OF EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(06:02) VARIOUS SHOTS - BRITISH ARMY SOLDIERS, FROM THE ROYAL ARTILLERY, LAUNCH THE AR3 DRONE AS PART OF EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(06:27) VARIOUS SHOTS - BRITISH ARMY SOLDIERS, FROM THE ROYAL ARTILLERY, CONTROL THE AR3 DRONE AS PART OF EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(07:18) VARIOUS SHOTS - BRITISH ARMY SOLDIERS, FROM THE ROYAL ARTILLERY, LAND THE AR3 DRONE, AS PART OF EXERCISE SPRING STORM.
(08:05) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - BRITISH ARMY BOMBARDIER ROMSEY-FERRIS, ATTACHMENT COMMANDER AR3 DRONE, 47 REGIMENT ROYAL ARTILLERY
“AR3 can fly for approximately 230 kilometres, endurance of approximately nine hours and we can put different sensors underneath it to find these targets. So on the drone we have today we've got EO, EO+, which is electro-optical camera, one with more zoom than the other and we can see both of those feeds at the same time. We also have out here an EO IR, so electrical, optical and infrared camera. Which is good for thermal imaging, and we can fly at night with that one.”
(08:36) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - BRITISH ARMY BOMBARDIER ROMSEY-FERRIS, ATTACHMENT COMMANDER AR3 DRONE, 47 REGIMENT ROYAL ARTILLERY
“We're not constrained by any runways or anything so we just need a bit of an open area to then launch that aircraft. We have VTOL so vertical takeoff and land so we can fly straight up and then join the route straight into it. It can also be launched off a rail, so we take out the VTOL arms and it then becomes a fixed wing flyer, however for that our all-up mass weight is reduced, so potentially less endurance with a fixed-wing, and then that would be parachute landed as well.”
(09:06) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – BRITISH ARMY BOMBARDIER ROMSEY-FERRIS, ATTACHMENT COMMANDER AR3 DRONE, 47 REGIMENT ROYAL ARTILLERY
“This is a great capability to have because it's so versatile and we can do so many things with it. We can monitor stationary targets, we can track moving targets. It's great for wide-area searchers, if you're searching a whole area that you know something might be in, you need to find that. We can then be the ones to pinpoint that location.”
(09:29) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – BRITISH ARMY LANCE BOMBARDIER BRACE, 47 REGIMENT ROYAL ARTILLERY, AR3 DRONE GROUND CREW OPERATOR
“So here on this exercise we have worked frequently with other NATO personnel, especially the French and the Estonians. With that here we are out with a new piece of equipment and Estonia has been a great place to learn that.”
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