First shots fired at new Latvian military training range

The opening of the live-fire training area of ​​the new 'Sēlija' military training zone is taking place on February 20th.

The training ground provides new training infrastructure, including a shooting range, for the use of various weapon classes and weapon systems, strengthening the available training options of the National Armed Forces and its allies in Latvia.

The event will be attended by President Edgars Rinkēvičs, Minister of Defence Andris Sprūds, the leadership of the National Armed Forces and other invited guests.

According to the Ministry of Defence the development of the new military range is "one of the most significant defence infrastructure projects in Latvia" and by the usual standards has been developed fairly quickly, given impetus by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The decision taken at the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid to increase the presence of allied forces in the Baltic States contributed to the need to develop additional training infrastructure in Latvia.

The first phase was implemented in the period from 2022 to 2025 and provides initial operational capabilities. Within its framework, a logistics support area for units up to company level, an ammunition storage area, a 300-metre shooting range, an infantry platoon tactical shooting range, a machine gun and sniper shooting range, as well as an unexploded ordnance area have been built and are bing put into operation in early 2026.

During the first phase, 11 state-owned real estate properties with a total area of ​​15,430 hectares were taken over and 14 private properties with an area of ​​160 hectares were also expropriated. The total acquired territory is 15,590 hectares.

At the same time, the marking of the outer boundary of the properties taken over in the first phase of the landfill has been completed. The development costs of the first phase are approximately 36.5 million euros.

The second phase of the range is planned for 2026-2029, and its goal is to ensure full operational capabilities by developing collective training infrastructure, with the main priority being to ensure capabilities for larger-scale brigade-level training.

"Tactical and engineering training, armored vehicle movements, aircraft overflights, and unmanned aerial vehicle training are already taking place at the military training ground. Soldiers of the National Armed Forces, including soldiers of the National Guard and the State Defence Service, as well as units of allied countries, are participating in the exercises. Several international military exercises are planned at the training ground in 2026," said the Defence Ministry.