Starting in July, the National Armed Forces (NAF) of Latvia plan to recruit an additional 500 professional soldiers.
The defence sector hopes that this recruitment effort will help the NAF reach a total of 8,000 professional soldiers this year and enable the rapid reinforcement of active-duty units while further strengthening integration within NATO’s defence structure.
To expedite the process, funding for salaries—up to 7.7 million euros—has been allocated for this year and will be reallocated within the Ministry of Defence budget according to actual staffing needs.
Since the 2025–2036 NAF Development Plan already included a planned increase in personnel, part of these positions had been accounted for in the 2026 budget framework. Therefore, an additional 6.5 million euros will be required in 2026 to fund 228 of the positions, which will be included in the base budget.
The personnel increase is needed across various levels of service, including officers, soldiers, and instructors.
The new positions are provisionally planned to be assigned to the Land Forces Mechanized Brigade, infantry fighting vehicle crews, air defence units, artillery units, and also to expand cadet training capacity at the National Defence Academy.
According to the State Chancellery, 432 of the new positions will be filled from the existing “vacancy bank,” while 68 positions will be added to the total number of posts in public administration.
As previously reported, the NAF is moving toward the peacetime force structure target of 31,000 service members outlined in the National Defence Concept, with the goal of achieving this by 2030.
According to the development plan, the peacetime structure will consist of: 4,000 National Defence Service (NDS) conscripts, 8,000 professional soldiers, 12,000 National Guard members, and
7,000 high-readiness reservists who are called up annually for training to maintain skills and combat readiness.
As listed on the NAF’s website, the current force includes:7,870 professional soldiers, 10,000 National Guards, 38,000 reservists, including those who served in mandatory military service until December 2006.
The 2023 National Defence Concept states that the wartime force of the NAF must reach 61,000 personnel, composed of the 31,000-strong peacetime force and 30,000 general reservists.
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