Estonia to make key decision on long-range air defense in September

Estonia's government is set to make a fundamental decision on the scope and supplier of a long-range air defense system during September's state budget negotiations, Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has announced.

Beyond the medium-range IRIS-T system already delivered to the country, Estonia intends to acquire a long-range system to protect strategic sites such as airports, ports, and military command centers. Losing such facilities could substantially weaken the defense capabilities of both Estonia and its allies.

Market study complete

Pevkur said the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (RKIK) has finished a broad market study. Based on its findings, the Cabinet will begin discussing within about a month which company will supply the system and at what scale. It remains unclear whether the ballistic missile defense purchase will cost more or less than €1 billion.

According to the minister, the investment center is still finalizing details with companies while a Cabinet memo is being prepared. The aim is to reach a fundamental decision within one to two months, after which contract negotiations could begin.

Candidates under review

ERR reported earlier this year that Estonia is weighing the U.S. Patriot system, Israel's David's Sling, and the French-Italian SAMP/T, with offers requested from four or five companies. Pevkur noted that delivery timelines vary sharply — some companies could deliver within two to three years, others would need eight to nine.

He explained that offers are difficult to compare directly, since some companies are proposing products still in final development rather than full production, requiring Estonia to combine its own analysis with the market study.

Pevkur also said that events such as the U.S.-Iran conflict have affected companies' ability to offer these systems. He described the situation with U.S. products as the most complicated, since they are heavily used in Ukraine, where ammunition supply has proven difficult — making it necessary to verify whether offers made to Estonia are actually feasible.