UK paratroops drop 1,000ft near Russian border in display of force

SCORES of British and American soldiers yesterday parachuted from a war plane in Estonia, as part of the largest Nato exercise since the Coldwar.

Some 82 Britons and 60 US allies dropped 1,000ft from the US Air Force’s C-17 Globemaster on Nurmsi, just 120 miles from the Russian border.

Thomas Keld, Section Commander in 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment, said it is like “being in a little car crash” before falling, as “it’s violent, you get moved about quite a bit. But as long as you do the drills properly, you won’t get hurt”.

The 16Airassault Brigade Combatteam, the British Army’s global response force, is leading more than 2,300 soldiers, sailors and aviators from four nations in the Swift Response exercise. Backed by 16 helicopters, paras are trained to deploy behind enemy lines and seize footholds.

The war games in Estonia are part of Steadfast Defender 24, Nato’s largest military exercise in a generation, with 90,000 troops mobilised from all 32 alliance members over the past few months.

The exercise comes just days after Putin, 71, accused the “arrogant” West of risking a world war.

But Major Matt Hazlett, Officer Commanding C (Ranger) Company, said: “The Russians will have to think twice... they’ll be more scared than we are.”