Synopsis
Estonia is hosting one of the largest military exercises in its history.
Known as exercise Hedgehog 25 — or Siil 2025 in Estonian — the operation sees 16,000 troops take part in a sweeping, multinational defence drill that spans the entire country. It’s a test of how Estonia and other NATO Allies would respond together in the face of a crisis.
Led by the Estonian Defence Forces, Hedgehog 25 focuses on strengthening Estonia’s defence posture in close coordination with NATO Allies, particularly France and the United Kingdom. The exercise demonstrates the rapid deployment of Allied troops to Estonian territory and their seamless integration with local units.
Simultaneously, the combat readiness of Estonia’s reservists, the Estonian Defence League, and regular forces are put to the test. The troops face diverse, complex scenarios, from river-crossings to armoured manoeuvres, designed to sharpen decision-making, improve tactical coordination, and ensure operational standards are met across the board. Exercise Hedgehog runs from 5 to 23 May.
Footage includes Estonian, French and UK soldiers, Challenger 2 tanks, Warrior fighting vehicles, Titan and Trojan armoured engineering vehicles. Soundbites from Lieutenant Colonel Grant Brown, Commander of 1 Mercian Battlegroup (Estonia) of the British Army.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS – BRITISH ARMY ENGINEERS MOVE A BRIDGE TO THE SIDE OF A RIVER
(00:10) SLOW-MO SHOT (NO SOUND) – BRITISH ARMY ENGINEERS RUN THROUGH A SMOKE SCREEN HAVING LAID THE FIRST BRIDGE SEGMENT
(00:15) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS – BRITISH ARMY ENGINEERS MOVE A BRIDGE INTO POSITION OVER A RIVER
(00:30) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS – BRITISH ARMY SOLDIERS CROSS THE BRIDGE AND TAKE COVER
(00:49) VARIOUS SHOTS – ESTONIAN SOLDIERS TRAVERSE THICK FOREST ON QUADBIKES
(01:01) ACTION SHOT – ESTONIAN SOLDIERS CARRY A HEAVY GUN INTO POSITION
(01:06) VARIOUS SHOTS – ESTONIAN SOLDIERS CAMOUFLAGE THEIR MOUNTED GUN POSITION
(01:14) VARIOUS SHOTS – ESTONIAN SOLDIERS PLAN THEIR DEFENCES ON A MAP
(01:28) VARIOUS SHOTS – ESTONIAN SOLDIERS PREPARE A MOUNTED MACHINE GUN
(01:40) VARIOUS SHOTS – ESTONIAN SOLDIERS FIRE A MOUNTED MACHINE GUN AS PART OF THE EXERCISE SCENARIO
(01:51) VARIOUS SHOTS – ESTONIAN SOLDIERS LOAD AN ANTI-TANK ROCKET LAUNCHER
(02:01) CLOSE SHOT – AN ESTONIAN SOLDIER FIRES AN ANTI-TANK ROCKET LAUNCHER
(02:02) CLOSE-UP – AN ESTONIAN PATCH SITS ABOVE A PATCH SUPPORTING UKRAINE ON AN ESTONIAN SOLDIER’S ARM
(02:08) VARIOUS SLO-MO SHOTS (NO SOUND) – ESTONIAN SOLDIERS WALK TOWARDS THEIR DEFENSIVE POSITIONS WITH HEAVY WEAPONRY
(02:18) VARIOUS SHOTS – AN ESTONIAN DRONE SQUAD FLY RECONNAISANCE DRONES
(02:56) CLOSE UP – AN ESTONIAN SOLDIER RETRIEVES A DRONE MID-AIR
(03:05) VARIOUS SHOTS – BRITISH ARMY WARRIOR FIGHTING VEHICLES ARRIVE AT THE MUSTER POINT
(03:31) VARIOUS SHOTS – BRITISH ARMY AND ESTONIAN SOLDIERS MEET AT THE MUSTER POINT
(03:39) CLOSE SHOT - A BRITISH ARMY SOLDIER MAINTAINS HIS RIFLE ON TOP OF A CHALLENGER 2 TANK
(03:43) VARIOUS SHOTS – BRITISH ARMY, FRENCH AND ESTONIAN SOLDIERS ARE BRIEFED ON THE PLANS FOR THE EXERCISE
(04:01) DRONE SHOT (NO SOUND) – BRITISH ARMY, FRENCH AND ESTONIAN SOLDIERS ARE BRIEFED ON EXERCISE PLANS IN FRONT OF CONVOYS OF ARMOURED VEHICLES
(04:15) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS (NO SOUND) – HUNDREDS OF ARMOURED VEHICLES WAIT AT THE MUSTER POINT
(05:00) WIDE SHOT – SOLDIER WORKS AWAY ON TOP OF A BRITISH ARMY TITAN ENGINEERING VEHICLE
(05:04) VARIOUS SHOTS – A SPOTTER STARING OUT FROM INSIDE THE BRITISH ARMY TITAN
(05:16) VARIOUS SHOTS – A BRITISH ARMY TITAN LIFTS A LARGE BRIDGE VERTICALLY UPRIGHT
(05:29) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS – A BRITISH ARMY TITAN DEPLOYS ITS BRIDGE WHILST ONTOP OF A BRIDGE OVER A RIVER
(06:02) VARIOUS WIDE SHOTS – A TROJAN MINE-CLEARING VEHICLE CLEARS A SIMULATED MINEFIELD
(06:20) SLO-MO SHOT (NO SOUND) – A TROJAN VEHICLE LIFTS AND REMOVES A CONCRETE BOLLARD FROM ITS PATH USING A MECHANICAL ARM
(06:32) VARIOUS SHOTS – WARRIOR FIGHTING VEHICLES DRIVE THROUGH THE PATH CLEARED BY THE TROJAN
(06:27) DRONE SHOT (NO SOUND) – AN ESTONIAN MILITARY VEHICLE DRIVES THROUGH FOREST
(06:56) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT COLONEL GRANT BROWN, 1 MERCIAN BATTLEGROUP COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH ARMY, NATO MULTINATIONAL BATTLEGROUP ESTONIA
“We form part of 1 Estonian Brigade, which in turn forms part of an Estonian division, so we’re fully enmeshed in their national military plans. And clearly, I won’t talk about details of those here, but, you know, we are on a notice to move, we have all the assets that we need to provide fulsome support to the Estonians in the event of a crisis.”
(07:18) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT COLONEL GRANT BROWN, 1 MERCIAN BATTLEGROUP COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH ARMY, NATO MULTINATIONAL BATTLEGROUP ESTONIA
“Well, I’d like to think that the average Estonian feels reassured that we’re here, that they trust that we are here with them, defending their nation with them and that in a time of crisis we’ll be here to support them.”
(07:30) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT COLONEL GRANT BROWN, 1 MERCIAN BATTLEGROUP COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH ARMY, NATO MULTINATIONAL BATTLEGROUP ESTONIA
“Estonia is a part of NATO. I have grown up knowing that this Alliance is there to protect all of us, to protect our freedoms, to protect our liberty and to enable us to live the lifestyle that we do, and to enjoy the freedoms that we do. And therefore, being here is incredibly important to me.”
(07:50) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) LIEUTENANT COLONEL GRANT BROWN, 1 MERCIAN BATTLEGROUP COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH ARMY, NATO MULTINATIONAL BATTLEGROUP ESTONIA
“I mean, we’re a diverse lot. At the moment we’re about 630 British soldiers in this battlegroup, and that’s alongside about 230 soldiers from the French army and so the future for us, over the next four months, which is around about what we as a unit have left in Estonia, is all about doing a large, national-level exercise that we’re doing at the moment. And then it’s going on to just continue to train, to be better, to continue to improve our interoperability, both with our French Allies and critically within our Estonian hierarchy.”
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