Major multinational military drill kicks off in Latvia

Silver Arrow 2016, a major multinational military exercise, kicked off in Latvia on Monday, the Latvian defense ministry informed.

More than 3,000 troops from Lithuania, Estonia, Albania, the United States, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, Romania and Germany joined Latvian soldiers in the exercise, according to the ministry.

The ministry's representatives indicated that the objective of the maneuvers, which are taking place from Oct. 17 to 31, is to train Latvian armed forces to cooperate with NATO allies and soldiers from partner countries, hone military planning skills, and play out defense operations with integrated logistics elements.

Silver Arrow, organized by the Land Forces Infantry Brigade of the Latvian National Armed Forces, is also one of the exercises in which Latvia's reserve officers are refreshing their knowledge and skills, according to the defense ministry.

The first unit of 200 British soldiers arrived for the exercise on Sunday, with their total number expected to reach 500. The maneuvers will take place in Adazi training area outside Riga.

The troops who arrived in Riga on Sunday are expected to form the core of NATO's rapid response capabilities in the Baltic region, military spokespeople said.

Silver Arrow, which was originally held as a national military training exercise, has turned into multinational maneuvers since 2014 with a broad participation of troops. Endit