Estonia will focus on purchasing weapons and ammunition in the next four years

The Estonian Defense Ministry announced that its new development plan for 2025 to 2028 would focus largely on the procurement of weapons and ammunition.

Estonia will spend a total of 1.55 billion euros ($1.7 billion) of its 5.3 billion euros ($5.7 billion) defense budget to replenish its weapons stockpiles and ammunition, half a billion more than stipulated in the previous version of the plan.

Developing the framework for new capabilities will also be part of the initiative.

The replenishment efforts come as part of Tallinn's continued military aid to Ukraine.

“Russia's large-scale war in Ukraine, coupled with its ability to replenish lost equipment, shows that we must focus even more on the resilience of our troops and replenish our stocks of weapons and ammunition, as well as continue to support Ukraine”, declared the Minister of Defense. Hanno Pevkur said.

Pevkur adds that Estonia will continue to provide long-term military aid to kyiv, setting aside an allocation of 0.25% of the country's GDP per year for this cause.

Specific improvements

During the implementation of the development plan, Estonia will improve its firing capabilities by creating a third mobile artillery battalion and installing artillery guns on wheeled platforms.

An Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) battalion will also be created, creating a link between intelligence assets operating in Estonia for better situational awareness.

The ISTAR group will allow maneuver and support units to be deployed more parsimoniously and efficiently to help maintain the initiative on the battlefield.

Additionally, upgrades to key capabilities detailed in the previous version of the development plan will continue. This includes new projects for Estonia's HIMARS missile launchers, medium-range air defense systems, air offensive weapons and mechanized maneuver units.