UK-Led Joint Expeditionary Force Concludes Exercise Joint Protector In Latvia

Britain and close European allies have exercised rapidly bolstering NATO’s eastern flank, demonstrating the Alliance’s ability to defend Latvia from any threat.  

The UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a partnership of ten northern European nations, has successfully concluded Exercise Joint Protector, across multiple locations in Latvia, on NATO’s eastern flank over the last month.  

The exercise is a vital part of testing how quickly the JEF can deploy together across Europe to meet rapidly emerging threats. Military personnel from across the ten nations practiced deploying from their home countries, along with key equipment, to locations across Latvia. 

The ability of the JEF to rapidly deploy is reliant on nations being able to seamlessly operate alongside each other. 

This exercise helped improve co-ordination and cooperation between JEF nations, particularly in the early phases of any deployment.  

Ukrainian military officers attended the exercise for the first-time this year as the alliance looks to learn from the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the Ukrainian military continues to work closely with its partners across Northern Europe.  

“Exercise Joint Protector demonstrates our unwavering commitment to regional security, keeping us secure at home and strong abroad, as well as the strength and depth of our international partnerships.”

“The participation of our Ukrainian partners highlights the exercise’s importance, ensuring that we can learn from Ukraine’s hard-fought combat experience.”

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