Estonia increases defense spending to buy air defense systems, more weapons
Estonia has approved a €476 million (U.S. $523 million) defense spending hike, the majority of which is for short- to mid-range air defense systems.
The additional funds will raise the country’s “defense spending over 2.5% of [the country’s] GDP,” the Defence Ministry said in a March 24 tweet.
In October, Estonian Defence Minister Kalle Laanet told Defense News his country planned to purchase a short- to mid-range air defense system similar to the Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System that Estonia’s neighbor Lithuania ordered from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
“We would like to start this project in cooperation with the U.S.,” the minister said at the time.
The ministry estimates the acquisition will be worth about €350 million.
28th February 2007, the Estonian Ministry of Defence has signed a contract valued at around €60 million with MBDA and SAAB AB for the supply of Mistral air defence missiles (MBDA) and associated Giraffe AMB radars (SAAB AB).
The contract was won by the two-company consortium led by MBDA following a competition against Raytheon of the USA.
Seven contenders for Estonian medium-range air defence requirement
Estonia is to put new medium-range air defence systems in service by 2025 with seven contenders in the picture, state broadcaster ERR reported on 3 May.
It added that a formal procurement process will be announced this month by the Estonian Center for Defense Investment (ECDI).
ECDI must still draw up detailed requirements with a more precise cost estimate before July. According to the ERR report, Estonia requires a solution mainly for anti-aircraft defence but it may also require some form of anti-missile capability.
‘As of today we have been in contact with seven bidders, from several countries,’ said Priit Soosaar, ECDI communications and radar manager.
‘As of today we have been in contact with seven bidders, from several countries,’ said Priit Soosaar, ECDI communications and radar manager.
He did not identify the interested parties but it may be significant that the Kongsberg/Raytheon NASAMS solution was deployed to Estonia for the Saber Strike exercise in March 2022.
Estonia plans to acquire mid-range air defence system with Latvia
Estonian Minister of Defence, Kalle Laanet and Latvian Minister of Defence, Artis Pabriks today signed a letter of intent at the NATO Summit in Madrid to create a legal framework for a joint procurement of Estonian and Latvian mid-range air defence systems.
Estonia´s Ministry of Defence has introduced various air defence capability solutions to the Government of the Republic, and a specific proposal for creating an air defence capability is planned to be submitted to the Government at the end of July.
In addition to the additional mid-range air defence offered by the Allies, Estonia also needs its own corresponding capability. The primary mid-range air defence capability ensures air defence for the mobilization of reserve troops of the Estonian Defence Forces and creates prerequisites for the arrival of Allied reinforcements at Estonian ports and airfields, as well as enables manoeuvres of ground forces.
According to the letter of intent, the joint procurement process of Estonian and Latvian air defense systems will be managed by the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment. The basis of the acquisition will be the military advice from the Chiefs of Defence of Estonia and Latvia.
Im Juli hat die estnische Beschaffungsbehörde, im Rahmen eines gemeinsamen Projekts mit Finnland, einen Vertrag mit THALES zur Modifikation der Radarsysteme Ground Master abgeschlossen. Der Auftragswert beläuft sich auf 11 Mio. EUR.
Estonia and Poland to jointly procure short range air defence systems
Today in Poland, the Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur and Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak reaffirmed the need to strengthen defence cooperation between the two states. As a first practical step in that direction, within the framework of the ministers’ meeting, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment (RKIK) and the Polish defence technology company Mesko signed an agreement for the Estonian-Polish joint procurement of the PIORUN short-range man-portable air defence systems (MANPADs).
The Government allocated 103 million euros (VAT included) from the defence reinforcement package to strengthening air defence capabilities.
PIORUN is an air defence weapons system developed in Poland and operational since 2019. It will be used in brigades and territorial defence units, which allows developing short-range air defence capabilities across Estonia. The first deliveries are expected in the second half of 2023 and the training will begin next year before the systems are delivered to Estonia.
Das Projekt zur Beschaffung von Fliegerabwehrsystemen mittlerer Reichweiten soll bis 2025 abgeschlossen sein. Es wird ein mobiles System mit Fliegerabwehrlenkwaffen, Radargeräte und Kommandoposten beschafft, das eine Reichweite von mindestens 30 km hat.
Saab Receives Orders for Short-Range Air Defence Systems from Latvia
Saab has received orders for the RBS 70 NG ground-based air defence system and the Giraffe 1X radar from the Latvian Ministry of Defence. Deliveries will begin in 2022.
theoderich hat geschrieben: ↑Mo 19. Dez 2022, 06:32Saab Receives Orders for Short-Range Air Defence Systems from Latvia
Saab has received orders for the RBS 70 NG ground-based air defence system and the Giraffe 1X radar from the Latvian Ministry of Defence. Deliveries will begin in 2022.
The Estonian Centre for Defence Investment will oversee the joint procurement process for air defense systems between Estonia and Latvia, as per the letter of intent. Military guidance from Estonia's and Latvia's Chiefs of Defense will form the foundation of the procurement.
Estonia and Latvia to begin medium-range air defence procurement negotiations with German manufacturer
In joint procurement for medium range air defence, Estonia and Latvia will start negotiations with the German weapons manufacturer Diehl Defence for acquiring the Iris-T SLM air defence system, announced defence ministers Hanno Pevkur and Ināra Mūrniece on Sunday in Riga.
“I am very happy that together with Latvia we have reached the next milestone in our joint procurement for medium range air defence. This has been a joint project of historical proportions for our defence cooperation, the largest one to date,” said Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.
“Presuming that negotiations are successful, we hope to reach contract and, subsequently, announce the official winning bidder this summer,” said minister Pevkur.
“Our objective is to ensure operational medium-range air defence capabilities for Estonia by 2025, which means that the first systems should arrive in 2024,” said Pevkur. The Estonian Government allocated funds for procuring medium-range air defence capabilities during the 2022 budgetary negotiations.
The Estonian Centre of Defence Investment (RKIK) carried out thorough market research for potential bidders and looked at six international companies. The bids went through a thorough analysis.
“For selecting the winning bidder, we looked at evaluation criteria such as the technical capacity of the system, the total cost of the system, the life cycle cost for the coming 30 years, the delivery time and the involvement of the local industry, so that Estonian and Latvian industry could also make a contribution towards the capacity development,” said Priit Soosaar, head of the communications and radar category at RKIK.
The final cost of the investment will be determined during contract negotiations. The capability includes the medium-range air defence system, but also the infrastructure, personnel, training, equipment and other related costs.
Last week, #DiehlDefence was visited by Magnus-Valdemar Saar, the Director General of ECDI and Estonian National Armament Director and by an Estonian / Latvian delegation. Estonia and Latvia plan jointly to acquire IRIS-T SLM ground-based air defence systems for the #protection of the two #NATO nations’ airspace.
Helmut Rauch (CEO) thanks Mr. Saar and the Estonian / Latvian delegation for their visit and the constructive exchange.