ARX Robotics UK systems were evaluated during a British Army exercise in Estonia in May 2026. The trial provided useful evidence regarding the potential of uncrewed ground systems to enhance situational awareness and support reconnaissance activities.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with the Government of Ukraine on the sharing of knowledge and insights to ensure that our support meets Ukraine's priority requirements and that the Armed Forces of Ukraine is responding effectively to the evolving threat, including from drones and energy weapons.

Due to operational security, we do not comment on specific capabilities.

The United Kingdom remains firmly committed to Estonia as the framework nation for NATO’s forward land forces.

The purpose of the Baltic Military Mobility Area (MMA) is to harmonise procedures for the movement of military personnel and equipment across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The alignment of infrastructure standards and legal authorisations will facilitate the movement of allied forces across the region.

We recognise that the ability to reinforce and sustain forward‑deployed units is essential to the effective delivery of NATO’s defence plans, and that military mobility initiatives are therefore central to collective deterrence and defence.

His Majesty's Government has noted the withdrawal of Finland, Estonia and Poland from the Ottawa Convention. The UK acknowledges and shares concerns about the security environment in the region as a result of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. We also acknowledge that it is the sovereign right of those countries to make this decision. The UK will continue to work to mitigate impacts on vital arms control and disarmament norms, while continuing to engage bilaterally on the actions those States plan to take following their withdrawal.

As a State Party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (also known as the Ottawa Convention), the UK remains committed to the Convention.

Defence conducts continuous review of all current and planned commitments in accordance with established protocols, ensuring that each task can be fully and appropriately resourced by the single Services. This process incorporates dynamic, ongoing assessment and the allocation of resources as new requirements arise.

Defence’s commitments relating to Ukraine have been appropriately resourced and deconflicted, with no identified concurrency risks affecting the Department’s ability to sustain planned outputs for Operation FIRECREST, Operation CABRIT, or the Joint Expeditionary Force contribution to ARCTIC SENTRY. As operational planning for the Ministry of Defence’s contribution to a ceasefire in Ukraine progresses, any additional requirements will be assessed, deconflicted, and resourced through established mechanisms to ensure Defence continues to deliver the highest standards of operational output.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided to question 81195 on 20 October 2025.

The UK and Estonia maintain a strong defence relationship and have a long history of working alongside each other through Baltic Air Policing, the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), Maritime and Land deployments through NATO and our enduring collaboration on NATO’s Forward Land Forces (FLF). The UK is the Framework Nation for NATO FLF Estonia and maintains a deployment of up to 1,000 UK Armed Forces personnel and saw hundreds of UK personnel rapidly deploy to Estonia earlier this year for Ex HEDGEHOG, which was a full demonstration of Estonia’s National Defence Plan.

The Government will start a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year and has naturally begun engaging with key stakeholders, including charities, trade unions, trade bodies and associations, businesses and local government leaders already. We will continue to engage through the consultation period and beyond to support product delivery.

We expect it to be designed, built and run by in-house Government teams, not outsourced to external suppliers. In the event any specialist external services or expertise are procured to support the delivery of new digital ID, this will be subject to all the usual competitive processes to ensure transparency, and value for the taxpayer.

The Government is also keen to learn from other countries that implemented successful digital ID programmes. The Rt Hon Pat McFadden travelled to Estonia in August to understand more about the Estonian digital ID system.

The UK’s presence in the Baltics, primarily through the Forward Land Forces (FLF) in Estonia, comprise of around 1,000 Service personnel at any one time.

The UK maintains strong and enduring ties with Estonia across a broad range of bilateral files. We work closely together as North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Joint Expeditionary Force allies, and the UK leads the enhanced Forward Presence at Tapa, supporting regional security. The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Michal in Oslo in May at the Joint Expeditionary Force Leaders Summit, and the Foreign Secretary met Foreign Minister Tsahkna in Warsaw in May. I hosted Secretary General Vseviov in March.

His Majesty's Government has made no formal assessment of the Estonian Government's amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act, which has not yet received Presidential approval. The UK is committed to promoting freedom of religion or belief for all and we work closely with international partners, including through the Article 18 Alliance, of which Estonia is a member, to champion freedom of religion or belief around the world. Estonia consistently scores highly on measures of freedom of religion or belief in public rankings, such as those of Freedom House. We have made no representations to the government of Estonia on the law under consideration.

His Majesty's Government has made no formal assessment of the Estonian Government's amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act, which has not yet received Presidential approval. The UK is committed to promoting freedom of religion or belief for all and we work closely with international partners, including through the Article 18 Alliance, of which Estonia is a member, to champion freedom of religion or belief around the world. Estonia consistently scores highly on measures of freedom of religion or belief in public rankings, such as those of Freedom House. We have made no representations to the government of Estonia on the law under consideration.

The UK Government has seen no evidence that suggests the Estonian Government is seeking to limit the practice of religious freedom. Instead, the revised wording of the proposed legal amendment aims to prevent hostile influence from reaching congregation members through the administrative ties of a religious organisation. We have therefore had no ministerial communication with the Government of Estonia on the subject. The UK is committed to promoting the freedom of religious belief for all and we work closely with international partners, including through the Article 18 Alliance, of which Estonia is a member, to champion freedom of religious belief around the world.

I am not aware of any plans by Estonia's government to ban the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church. The revised wording of Estonia's proposed Churches and Congregations Act Amendment simply states that religious organisations must not have links to religious organisations or leaders abroad that threaten the national security of Estonia; it does not give the Estonian government the power to ban religious organisations. The Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with the Estonians on the matter. The UK is committed to promoting the freedom of religious belief for all and we work closely with international partners, including through the Article 18 Alliance, of which Estonia is a member, to champion freedom of religious belief around the world.

I am not aware of any plans by Estonia's government to ban the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church. The revised wording of Estonia's proposed Churches and Congregations Act Amendment simply states that religious organisations must not have links to religious organisations or leaders abroad that threaten the national security of Estonia; it does not give the Estonian government the power to ban religious organisations. The Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with the Estonians on the matter. The UK is committed to promoting the freedom of religious belief for all and we work closely with international partners, including through the Article 18 Alliance, of which Estonia is a member, to champion freedom of religious belief around the world.

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will understand that for operational security reasons I cannot comment on the specific rules of engagement for the Armed Forces under Operation CABRIT.

Since 2017, the UK has been the Framework Nation to Estonia as part of the NATO construct, enhanced Force Presence (eFP). This construct provides members of the Alliance positioned along the Eastern Flank of NATO (Host Nations) with bilateral guarantees from other NATO members.

The UK’s presence in Estonia has been centred on an Armoured Battle Group, based in Tapa and comprising up to 1,300 Service personnel and high end warfighting capabilities. These capabilities included the Challenger 2 Armoured Tank, numerous Anti-Tank capabilities, armoured infantry and artillery. In addition the Battle Group is supported by Divisional level assets such as Short Range Air Defence and long range strike artillery.

Following the Madrid NATO summit in 2022 and the full invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Alliance increased the level of support to Host Nations, with Framework Nations agreeing to reinforce with up to a Brigade in times of crisis. This was termed Forward Land Forces (FLF). To date, the UK has achieved this through the allocation of 12 Armoured Bde and associated capability. Bilaterally, the UK will reinforce Estonia with the balance of a Brigade. This year, 12 Bde are being replaced by 4 Bde, reinforced with an Aviation Task Force. This transition will be showcased on Ex HEDGEHOG, a Baltic wide demonstration of the FLF construct.

Both 2021 and 2025 saw UK personnel numbers remain stable at around 700 personnel in country.