Estonia, Markets and Companies, Security

In total, the defense forces acquired close to 19,000 weapons, which are to be delivered over a period of two years.

"Without doubt, today is a historic moment. The last time the Estonian state and the Estonian defense forces procured automatic rifles was when we procured the Galils, which we actually did not have in sufficient numbers for the whole wartime lineup," commander of the defense forces Maj. Gen. Martin Herem said.

Herem said that R20, named Rahe (Hail) in Estonian, is meant to be a weapon for the whole wartime structure of the defense forces. This, he said, is definitely a big leap forward in the development of the defense forces in terms of weapons. 

Defense Minister Juri Luik described the procurement of the new automatic rifles as one of the most important procurements for the field of national defense, as it will concern all members of the defense forces and Kaitseliit in the longer term. 

"It is not unimportant either that the weapons are supplied by a US manufacturer. The United States is one of our most important allies and it's essential that we do our utmost to strengthen the allied relationship in every way," Luik said.

The first batch arriving in Estonia consisted of 1,250 units of R20 automatic rifles, 250 units of  TA-R20 precision rifles and 70 units of M203 under-barrel grenade launchers with additional equipment. The weapons are made up of modules that can be switched in accordance with the needs of the soldier. Different parts of the weapons are also easily interchangeable.

"R20 is a modern automatic firearm as far as the whole world is concerned. Compared with the present weapons, the new weapons are more lightweight, more accurate and dependable, increasing the effectiveness of our units," said Maj.  Risto Partel, chief weapons officer of the Estonian defense forces. 

The weapons are suited for both right-handed and left-handed shooters and the state-of-the art equipment going with the weapons enables to use them also at night.  

After the delivery of the weapons, training provided by the manufacturer will start for shooting instructors of the sniper school and the Estonian Military Academy, who in their turn will provide training to instructors and technicians of the rest of the defense forces and Kaitseliit. 

The replacement of automatic firearms will take place unit by unit over the course of this year and 2021. The first units to get the new weapons are the Scouts Battalion and the Estonian units participating in international military missions. Most of the units will get weapons with a standard barrel length. Weapons with a shorter barrel configuration will go to units of the Navy, the military police and other combat support units. 

The Galil and AK-4 rifles currently in use in the Estonian defense forces will be gathered into the warehouses of the Support Command, inspected and prepared for long-term storage. 5.56 mm Galil rifles in good condition will remain in the defense forces' wartime supplementary reserve and the reserve of substitute weapons. The 7.62 mm AK-4 automatic rifles will also be inspected and stored as a general reserve.

The Estonian Center for Defense Investments and US arms manufacturer LMT signed an agreement on the supply of new automatic weapons for the Estonian defense forces on July 1 last year. The weapons are to be delivered in six batches over 2020-2021, with the exact delivery times subject to change due to the COVID-19 situation. 

LMT is a US company established in 1980. Several US military and other armed structures, the British special operations force SAS and the army of New Zealand use firearms manufactured by LMT.