Home  /  Newsroom  /  News  /  2023  /  Allies demonstrate NATO's firepower during armored gunnery competition Iron Spear in Latvia

SZCZECIN, Poland – Armored crews from across the Alliance teamed up in Ādaži, Latvia to demonstrate NATO's firepower during the bi-annual competition Iron Spear. Conducted by NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Latvia and the Latvian Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the event saw a number of Allied troops currently deployed in the Baltic Sea region. 

Held since 2018, Iron Spear is designed to improve cohesion and interoperability across the eFP Battlegroups while simultaneously showcasing NATO's firepower. This year, the Main Battle Tank and Infantry Fighting Vehicle competitions were participated by soldiers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States representing the Battlegroups from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland.

Multinational troops stage their vehicles before a firepower demonstration during the Iron Spear competition conducted jointly with enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroups from Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania in Ādaži, Latvia, November 13 © Captain H Howey

A Polish tank fires during the Iron Spear competition in Ādaži, Latvia, November 13, 2023 © Captain H Howey

Assigned to NATO eFP Battlegroup Estonia, British Army Lieutenant Adain Glenister, the Armored Infantry Platoon Commander with Britain's own First Fusiliers, said that the benefit coming out of Iron Spear was twofold: 

Firstly – to reassure the Baltic states that we are here and we are serious about defending their sovereign territory, but also to deter any potential enemies and show them that we are ready to fight at a moment's notice.

Throughout all of its iterations, Iron Spear has strengthened NATO's mobility, force projection and cooperation across the Baltic Sea region. At the same time, it allowed the participating soldiers to foster a sense of camaraderie and purpose. As emphasized by U.S. Army Sergeant Keaton Williamson, an armored crewmember with the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment supporting NATO eFP Battlegroup Poland:

Building relationships is a very unique experience, and it really represents what NATO is – it's this alliance of all of us after one common goal.

U.S. Army Seargent Alejandro Anguiano, a loader for Bravo “Barbarian” Company, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment supporting NATO eFP Battlegroup Poland, boresights the M1A2 Abrams main gun, during Iron Spear in Ādaži, Latvia, November 13 © Captain H Howey

Multinational troops representing Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.S. stage their vehicles before a firepower demonstration during the Iron Spear competition in Ādaži, Latvia, November 13 © Captain H Howey