US and NATO military bases in Latvia
Map of USA and NATO military bases in Latvia
Latvia: Riga (advanced command and staff cell of NATO); Adazi (multinational battalion of NATO, 1293 people.; unit of the rotational armored brigade of the Armed forces (AF) of the United States); air base (AVB) in Lielvard (unit of the rotational brigade of the US army aviation). Rekonstruiruet military base in p. Lisnave, polygons in the town of Skrunda, Aluksne and Liepaja edges.
NATO has always paid great attention to the Baltic sea region since the cold war and the Soviet Union, because it is a very important political and industrial center like St. Petersburg, for example, which is of great importance to Russia.
In the end, it is always, and still is, practiced in the exercises – the shortest way to strike cruise missiles in Moscow is a route such as their launch from bombers over the Norwegian sea through the territory of Norway, Sweden, through the Baltic sea and further in the direction of the administrative centers of the Soviet Union or Russia. Now such things are also being worked out in the exercises.
Latvia: the most powerful air base
The NATO multinational battalion group in Latvia, under the leadership of Canada, is stationed in the locality of Kadaga. For its placement, new barracks and hangars were built at the expense of Latvian taxpayers, the entire infrastructure of the military camp and places for conducting combat training classes were updated.
According to the latest satellite images, several dozen pieces of equipment are visible in the open air, including 14 armored personnel carriers. The "Latvian" battalion includes a canadian mechanized infantry battalion, a Czech grenade launcher unit, an Italian mechanized infantry group with combat vehicles, a Polish tank company, a Slovak mechanized infantry company, a Spanish mechanized infantry company with combat vehicles and tanks, and an infantry unit from Slovenia. In total, there are about 1,400 military personnel.
Combat aircraft of NATO is located on the airfield in Lielvarde. Google's images also show an updated runway and Parking lots. On them, not far from the big hangar, there are 8 combat helicopters, one transport and a fighter. According to the latest data, the US is deploying 13 UH-60 and HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at the airport as part of operation Atlantic Resolve. There are also European fighter jets on duty as part of the NATO police mission in the Baltic States ' airspace.
There are also three Latvian military training grounds near the border with Russia and Belarus, which NATO forces use for exercises.
We must not forget that a multinational division "North" will be created in the Baltic States, which is intended to coordinate NATO exercises and help the North Atlantic Alliance troops integrate into the regional armed forces. The division's headquarters was opened in Adazi on March 8.
The division's headquarters will be subordinate to the NATO North-East corps headquarters located in Szczecin, Poland. It will work simultaneously at the NATO base in Adazi and in Denmark. At the same time, it is emphasized that the headquarters element located in Denmark will be ready for rapid transfer to the Baltic States in the event of a crisis.
Using Latvia for NATO and US purposes
Priority is given to the development of the military town of Adazi (Latvia), where the multinational battalion tactical groups of NATO have been deployed on a rotational basis since 2017. Work is underway to increase the capacity of the barracks. New hangars, deep and fortified storage facilities, repair shops, transport infrastructure, and training complexes with means of computer simulation of the situation in the theater of war are being built on the territory of the landfill.
Currently, at the lielvard air base (Latvia), work is being completed to prepare the infrastructure for the reception and deployment of multi-purpose fifth-generation fighters, bombers and transport aircraft of the NATO ovvs. Modern three-coordinate radar stations of American production, means of radio engineering and navigation support of flights are put into service.
The task of controlling the air space in Latvia is assigned to the headquarters of the Lielvarde air base. According to the development program national air force in March 2018 completed acceptance tests of the first received from the United States (a total of three ordered) mobile radar detection station TPS-77 MRR, allowing its deployment to a previously untrained position.
As part of the NATO operation to patrol Latvian airspace as a reserve airfield for the mission used Lielvarde air base, which was carried out a comprehensive reconstruction in the interests of receiving aviation various types, including F-22 Raptor and F-35 lightning-2 fighters, C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, and B-52N strategic bombers. In addition, the objects were equipped with an automatic precision landing system aircraft hangars, aircraft repair shops, weapons depots, fuel and liquid fuel storage facilities oxygen and nitrogen. The daily capacity of the air base's cargo terminal is up to 2 thousand people and 1 thousand passengers tons of cargo.
The NATO leadership is actively using the capital's civil airport Vilnius for the transfer of military formations.
An important place in the NATO infrastructure is occupied by the Riga seaport and the naval base located on its territory
Bolderay, which is one of the key unloading points for Alliance naval transport with personnel,
weapons and military equipment.
For receiving large-capacity vessels, ensuring rapid unloading of troops and their subsequent transportation to the areas of concentration berthing facilities are being modernized in the ports of Liepaja and Ventspils (Latvia).
The main civil infrastructure project of the Baltic States is the construction of the high-speed railway "rail Baltika" with a pan - European gauge on the route Warsaw - Kaunas - Riga-Tallinn. In military terms, the new road will increase the efficiency and ease of maneuvering by NATO forces along a potential front line, which is assumed to be the Russian border.
Exercises in Latvia in June 2020
The exercises of the multinational NATO battalion "Urban Steel" were held from 8 to 20 June at the training ground in Adazi and the Ventspils region. Moreover, in the Ventspils region the maneuvers were carried out in cooperation with the 46th Infantry Battalion of the 4th Kurzeme Brigade of the Home Guard (people's volunteer corps) at the Medini 1 training ground in the Varva Volost. During the exercises, the issues of interaction and compatibility of units were worked out in the conduct of hostilities in the conditions of a settlement. During the maneuvers, both combat (only at military ranges and shooting ranges) and training ammunition were used.