Estonia is looking to acquire weapons and gear to hit an invading force before it reaches the country’s borders, the head of its defense procurement office says. Magnus-Valdemar Saar, director of the Centre for Defence Investment, mentioned deep strikes into enemy territory and effective shaping operations as goals.
Ukraine recently received long-range ATACMS missiles and is now seeking permission to use them to hit targets deeper inside Russia. Estonia is learning from the conflict in Ukraine that shaping operations need to be carried out effectively and deep into enemy territory.
Estonia has announced plans to create a loitering munitions unit with drones having a range of 100 kilometers. They have purchased Vulcano 155 guided munitions from Diehl and HIMARS launchers with GMLRS rockets.
Estonia is considering new capabilities in Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance, in addition to bolstering their national defense more quickly than NATO. The country may also increase spending on anti-air defenses, including short-range man-portable missiles or longer-range interceptors. Saar mentioned the possibility of acquiring air defense systems with even longer ranges than the existing IRIS-T, depending on affordability and future defense planning.