Estonia to decide on long-range air defence purchase during September budget talks

Estonia's government intends to make a fundamental decision in September, as part of state budget negotiations, on how much to spend and from whom to order long-range air defence systems. It remains unclear whether the purchase of systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles will cost more or less than one billion euros.

The long-range systems would supplement the medium-range IRIS-T systems already delivered to Estonia. They would help protect strategic sites such as airports, ports and military command posts, whose destruction could significantly weaken the defence capability of Estonia and its allies.

Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (RKIK) has completed a large-scale market study. Based on this study, the government will begin discussing next month, during budget talks, which company to order the systems from and in what volume. Pevkur said a memorandum for the government is being prepared, with the goal of reaching a fundamental decision at a government meeting within one to two months, after which RKIK could proceed to contract negotiations if needed.

Earlier this year, ERR reported that the options under consideration included American Patriot, Israeli David's Sling and French-Italian SAMP/T systems, with offers received from four to five companies in total. Pevkur noted that some companies could deliver their air defence systems within two to three years, while others would need eight to nine years.

The minister said the offers vary considerably, with some companies proposing products still in development rather than in production, making a direct comparison difficult. He said a dedicated analysis is needed to determine which system to move forward with in concrete price and contract negotiations.

Pevkur added that suppliers' ability to deliver has also been affected by the war between the US and Iran. He noted that the situation is most complicated with American-made equipment, since it is also heavily used in Ukraine, where the biggest shortages concern ammunition — meaning further work with companies is needed to determine how realistic their offers actually are.