Estonia, Security, Technology
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Friday, 29.03.2024, 11:53
DefMin launches website introducing Estonia's national defense development
The website maps out the development of Estonia's defense
capability since 1990 until the present day, and covers a wide range of topics
from training to procurement and infrastructure, spokespeople for the ministry
said. Various metrics describing national defense development show both general
development and the evolution of narrower fields, to illustrate the history and
current state of military defense.
The metrics for measuring national defense development show
how the training of active service personnel and conscripts is proceeding, the
kinds of armaments or infrastructure being invested in, to what degree the
Estonian defense forces are contributing to international operations, and what
the society's overall will to defend the country is.
Minister of Defense Juri Luik said that Estonia's military
capability, including the defense forces' firepower, along with the defense
will have improved. The minister pointed out that improvement of defense
capability has consistently been geared at having a fully manned and combat
ready defense forces with mechanized ground units and troops defended to the
greatest possible degree.
"The Scouts Battalion, the armored infantry battalion
of the 1st Infantry Brigade, has been equipped with CV90 heavy infantry
fighting vehicles with world class firepower, mobility and level of
protection," Luik said.
Luik said that the procurement of infantry fighting vehicles has been one part of the development of the armored maneuvering capability of the defense forces of Estonia. Nearly 30 years ago, the defense forces began using standard trucks lacking any protection, which were gradually replaced in 2005 with armored personnel carriers and armored trucks.
"The anti-tank capability of Estonian defense forces has significantly increased with the acquisition of Javelin anti-tank missiles, and a procurement contract has also been signed for the purchasing of the long-range anti-tank system Eurospike," he added.
The minister pointed out that with the adoption of 155 mm
howitzers, the maximum range of artillery increased from 15 kilometers to 24-30
kilometers. In the next stage of development of armored maneuvering capability
and maximum range, the plan is to acquire South-Korean made self-propelled
artillery K9 Thunder.
The National Defense Development Plan 2017-2026 foresees
that by 2026 the 1st Infantry Brigade will have been developed into a
mechanized infantry brigade and the 2nd Infantry Brigade will have been developed
into a combat capable motorized light infantry brigade. The country's defense
structure will also grow by more than 10 light infantry companies and a
thousand combatants, and the upgrading of the Kaitseliit (Defense League)
volunteer corps' infrastructure to ensure a high level of training for
volunteers will continue.
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