Ukrainian Ruslan Delivers Equipment for NATO Medical Exercises in Estonia

The Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan heavy transport aircraft has delivered equipment for Vigorous Warrior 26, NATO’s largest multinational medical exercise.

According to the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps–Italy, Vigorous Warrior is the alliance’s largest medical training exercise and is held every two years.

This year’s exercise is taking place in Estonia from June 8 to June 20, with activities being conducted in Harju and Lääne-Viru counties.

The Estonian Defense Forces, the NATO Center of Excellence for Military Medicine, and the Estonian Health Board organize the exercise.

The primary objective of the exercise is to improve coordination between civilian and military medical systems under realistic operational conditions. Participants train in providing battlefield medical care, stabilizing casualties, and conducting large-scale medical evacuations.

In November 2025, a Ruslan transport aircraft carried three SPYDER air defense missile system launchers from Israel to Georgia. Georgia’s acquisition of the new air defense systems had not been publicly disclosed before then.

Military analyst Arab-Military published a video showing a launcher being loaded onto a Ukrainian An-124 Ruslan at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.