Namejs 2026: Latvia's nationwide comprehensive defence exercise

Key facts

• Dates: 2 September – 8 October 2026, announced 24 August. No change reported.
• Scale: ~12,000 National Armed Forces personnel and Zemessardze members — the same figure in every digest; the split between regulars, Zemessardze and allies is not stated.
• Participants: Latvia as host, with Canada, the United States, Estonia, Lithuania "and others". For the 16–20 September Riga phase the NAF separately names Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania and representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
• Location: nationwide; UAV and counter-UAS work declared for the eastern border area, most intensive in Latgale on 4–6 September.
• Run by: Latvia's National Armed Forces (NBS), with NATO's Multinational Division North HQ, the NATO Force Integration Unit Latvia (NFIU) and the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).
• Latvian name: visaptverošas valsts aizsardzības mācības "Namejs 2026"; Xinhua renders it "Namejs'26".

What was practised

Mobilisation drills test the alerting and call-up of reservists and Zemessardze members, their supply with equipment and weapons and their integration into the combat structure; a parallel strand rehearses the mobilisation of material-technical resources. A separate declared component covers unmanned aircraft together with the detection, identification and neutralisation of hostile UAS in the eastern border area, and field training in forested terrain and army–civil coordination run alongside.

Announced effects: live fire at ranges, vehicle and troop movement on roads, low-altitude military flights, temporary traffic restrictions; residents were asked to report suspicious activity near the border to the State Border Guard. Beyond these components the digests record no scenario and no stated objectives, and quote no Latvian official by name.

How it unfolded

• 24.08 — the National Armed Forces announce the exercise: 2 September – 8 October, ~12,000 troops and Zemessardze members.
• 29–30.08 — run-up: Zemessardze 1st Riga Brigade battalions drill in Vecumnieki parish (Bauska municipality), Ropaži parish, Garkalne and Mārupe municipality.
• 02.09 — the exercise begins nationwide.
• 04–06.09 — the most intensive activity shifts to Latgale, on the Russian and Belarusian border: intensive UAV and counter-UAS work, troop and equipment movement, low-altitude flights, traffic restrictions.
• 05–14.09 — Oak Projection runs in parallel at Sēlija: a Canadian-led NATO Multinational Brigade exercise with CH-146 Griffon flights Ādaži–Sēlija. Separate from Namejs.
• 07.09 — the Latgale phase winds down; movement to training areas continues through 7 September.
• 14–20.09 — Courland phase of the 4th Courland Brigade: Liepāja, Ventspils, Talsi, South Courland (hybrid and conventional scenarios).
• 16–20.09 — Riga active phase: the 1st Riga National Guard Brigade with allies (Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania, representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces) practises protecting the capital, critical infrastructure and rapid mobilisation. On the evening of 16 September around 20:00 training anti-mobility barriers and a checkpoint go in at Jaunā Teika (Ropažu 6). Helicopters and drones over Riga (NAF / LSM / TVNET / mil.lv).
• 18.09 — in Riga: protection of the "Rīgas ūdens" plant in Daugavgrīva and a practical civilian evacuation from Uzvaras Park to Arkādija Secondary School (more than 100 volunteers signed up and intake closed; chemical-spill scenario, overnight in the centre); 18–19 September — practical serials on the grounds of Stradiņš Hospital (LSM / TVNET).
• night to 19.09 — checkpoints on Salu Bridge together with the State Police, 22:00–07:00.
• 19.09 — helicopter medical-evacuation serial in Uzvaras Park.
• 20.09 — the Riga and Courland phases close on schedule; no separate after-action report was found in national media.
• 22.09 — Latvia's Ministry of Defence page confirms the overall frame of 2 September – 8 October.
• 23.09–05.10 — the nationwide frame continues on the announced dates; the daily issues find no new dated Namejs episode. The live-fire accident at Ādaži on 25 September, in which four Italian soldiers of NATO's Forward Land Forces were injured, is not described by the NBS as part of Namejs.
• 08.10 — the NBS say the exercise ended on the announced day. The same text repeats the figure of about 12,000 Latvian and allied soldiers and national guards. It also names episodes the daily issues had not described before that date: in Valmiera the city security plan was tested and the municipal crisis staff was activated, and a resident evacuation was drilled; in Riga and Pierīga, defence of the capital and critical infrastructure and a practical evacuation; in Jūrmala, the municipality's civil protection; in Kurzeme and Zemgale, action under a hybrid and a conventional threat; in Latgale, territorial defence, unmanned aircraft and counter-UAS; in eastern Vidzeme, joint work by the NBS, allies and interior services. This is one official text. LV portāls publishes the same text. There is no separate headcount.

Coverage here runs to 9 October 2026. On 8 October the NBS said the exercise ended on the announced day.

Why it matters for the Baltics

Namejs raises Latvia's military density for September and October, and the Latgale phase puts that density directly on the border with Russia and Belarus. The digests score it as a moderate defensive up-factor, partly self-stabilising because it was pre-announced and defensive in purpose. It falls in a crowded window alongside Lithuania's Strong Griffin 2026 near the Belarus border (2–20 September, ~2,500 troops). No Russian or Belarusian reaction to Namejs by name is recorded; the nearest item is Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's remark of 2 September that NATO has turned the Baltic into "a zone of military confrontation", while saying Russia has no plans to attack the Baltic states. From mid-September the daily escalation assessment lists Namejs among the NATO-side "continuing nationwide exercises", together with Lithuania's Perkūno griausmas 2026 (17 September – 15 October); the digests attribute the index's September rise to 5.1 mainly to drone incidents — above all the shoot-down over Lithuania on 15 September — with exercise density counted only as a background factor.

Frequently asked questions

When is Namejs 2026?

From 2 September to 8 October 2026, on dates announced on 24 August 2026 and unchanged since.

Where is Namejs 2026 held?

Across the whole of Latvia, with the UAV and counter-UAS component in the eastern border area and the most intensive phase in Latgale on 4–6 September.

How many troops take part in Namejs 2026?

About 12,000 National Armed Forces personnel and Zemessardze members, plus allied contingents. Whether allies are counted inside that figure is not stated.

Is Namejs 2026 connected to a Russian-Belarusian exercise?

No such link is reported, and no major Russian-Belarusian exercise is announced for autumn 2026 — see the Zapad 2026 page.

Is Namejs 2026 still going on?

No. On 8 October 2026 the NBS said the exercise ended on the announced day, from 2 September to 8 October. The figure of about 12,000 in that text is the same number announced earlier, not a new count.

Sources

• eng.lsm.lv / LSM (Latvian public media) — primary source
• mil.lv (official)
• riga.lv (official)
• zs.mil.lv (Zemessardze, official)
• BauskasDzive.lv
• chayka.lv
• Xinhua
• TVNET · mod.gov.lv (Latvian Ministry of Defence)

This page is maintained alongside the daily digests; the list of related issues above updates automatically.