3 Scots tests out latest battlefield tech on Exercise Forest Guardian in Latvia

Soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland have been in Latvia testing out the latest technology to give them a battlefield advantage.

Members of 3 Scots deployed on Exercise Forest Guardian to enhance their ability to operate in the Baltic against any threat of aggression.

It is part of a 10-nation mission – Exercise Tarassis – that stretches from the Arctic down to the Baltic states to enhance the ability of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies to operate together and fight effectively to answer any potential threat.

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More than 200 members of the battalion are working alongside allies from the Latvian forces, as well as Canada and Italy, to conduct defensive operations against a simulated threat.

As part of the drive to modernise the infantry forces, 3 Scots have been operating remote, uncrewed systems and artificial intelligence systems to gain an advantage on the battlefield.

These have included the ATAK tablet system to securely process and share mission data over the battlefield, as well as the Viking uncrewed ground vehicle that can be used for casualty evacuation, reconnaissance and logistics.  

Lance Corporal James Bruce said: "It's pretty spot on some of the kit that they've been giving out.

"Times are changing, things are changing, and obviously we're going into more modernised capabilities.

"You see it a lot as well in different places – how they're working with it and using it, and it just helps.

"It makes you win battles quicker."

The deployment is the first milestone in the modernisation of the Army's 11th Brigade, as well as it testing how JEF can respond to any threats to peace in northeast Europe.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Rob Smith said: "The Army is going through a modernisation agenda right now, and one of the things we are seeing as part of that is the ability to integrate industry-led capabilities alongside our forces."

"That modernisation experience" makes the Army "more lethal", he said. 

"More lethal at doing our core purpose – fighting and winning wars on and from the land and making it real for our people in terms of seeing how that change is being brought about.

"And a lot of that change – both modernisation and indeed increasing lethality – is reflecting many of the lessons we're learning from Ukraine and the phenomenal experience and determination that the men and women of Ukraine are providing in challenging Russia's illegal invasion of their country."