Brussels 22.05.2025 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, the NATO press-release reads. (Image above: illustration).

Hedgehogs aren’t the only ones bristling with armour!🦔🪖

Exercise #Hedgehog25 is testing troops, tactics, and terrain in Estonia. 🇪🇪

Our military vehicles are rolling out alongside @NATO allies to prove readiness and resolve. 🛞@BritishArmy #WeAreNATO #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/43gWb2bU4i

— Defence Operations 🇬🇧 (@DefenceOps) May 22, 2025

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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.

🚛🇫🇷 #Hedgehog2025 | All French vehicles are now in Estonia!
Armoured, logistics, command—this major deployment marks a key milestone.
Thanks to the mechanics, logisticians & drivers behind the scenes, #HEDGEHOG25 is ready to roll.
It starts here.#NATO #WeAreNATO #Kaitsevägi pic.twitter.com/CjczWMrMBr

— French Forces in Estonia (@FrForcesEstonia) May 3, 2025

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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.

Учения #Hedgehog25, проходящие в Эстонии 🇪🇪, в самом разгаре. Солдаты @Natobgest продолжают демонстрировать твердую приверженность делу.

📽️ Ниже краткий видеоотчет о том, как союзники по #НАТО вместе укрепляют оборону наших стран.pic.twitter.com/sKOAprp8bp

— НАТО по-русски (@NATOpoRusski) May 22, 2025

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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.

Allies 🇨🇦🇩🇰🇪🇪🇫🇮🇫🇷🇩🇪🇱🇻🇵🇱🇵🇹🇸🇪🇬🇧🇺🇸train together during Estonia's 🇪🇪 largest annual defensive multi-domain exercise Hedgehog 25

The exercise demonstrates NATO's commitment to collective defence and its readiness to address any security challenges

Read more: https://t.co/jhJ9H4dC4L pic.twitter.com/s7Ur4A9DlX

— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) May 20, 2025

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“This year’s Estonian Defence Forces exercise Hedgehog went down in history as a NATO exercise where Estonian-Ukrainian drone groups demonstrated next-generation warfare for the first time. However, we have only taken the first steps on a long journey,” wrote security expert and reserve officer Ilmar Raag on Facebook.

“I was there with one of the Ukrainian drone groups, but I also had contact with others and witnessed several operations. I’ll start with the positive. Compared to ten years ago, the Estonian Defense Forces have made huge progress.

“Even if you compare us to the Russian army of 2022, we have become a pretty sickly insect. We have armored troops and various armored vehicles. The Kaitseliit units look quite adequate warriors. In addition, we have the “Evil Hedgehog” (Kuri Siil) drone initiative under the auspices of the Kaitseliit.

“From a technical point of view, I saw about 100 drones plowing through swamps and forests, simultaneously transmitting images from the battlefield to the command center using high technology. This looks like what Ukraine already had. The statistics are also comparable to Ukraine. However, the news that Ukrainian drone pilots are training Estonians has gone beyond international news.

“However, we need to compare ourselves not with ourselves a few years ago, but with the Russians, who are fighting differently now.

Drones are the most dangerous weapon:
“First, the number of our drones and drone operators. On both the Ukrainian and Russian sides, 70-85% of manpower losses are due to drone attacks. Drones have won the title of the most dangerous indirect-fire weapon.

“Ukrainian drone pilots I know have done the calculations and concluded that Estonia will need to use about 200,000 drones during one month of war (based on Ukrainian combat practice and the desire to independently produce 5 million drones this year)”.

“The Ukrainians also calculated that Estonia would need at least 700-1000 drone pilots to stop the Russian advance. The main result of such numbers should be the saturation of the air with drones.

This time, there was a good situation on the “Hedgehog”, when after some time our valiant FPV drone reached the tank. However, according to the Ukrainians, by this time at least 8-10 drones should have been flying towards the tank, since one is usually not enough. This statement is not a criticism of the Estonian drone operators, since in this case such a solution requires the efforts of the whole society. More money needs to be invested in the drone army”.