Estonia and Latvia want to acquire German air defense systems

VILNIUS (Reuters) – Estonia and Latvia, members of the European Union and NATO, will begin talks with German group Diehl Defense for the purchase of a medium-range air defense system, the Estonian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The cost of the Iris-T SLM air defense system and additional capabilities such as infrastructure, personnel, training, equipment will be determined during the talks, which may be concluded during the summer, the ministry said.

“Our goal is to ensure that Estonia has medium-range air defense capabilities by 2025, which means the first systems should arrive in 2024,” said Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.

The procurement will be led by the Estonian Center for Defense.

Last October, Estonia and Latvia were among 14 European NATO partners who signed a letter of intent to jointly acquire air defense systems, as Russia’s war in Ukraine exposed material shortages.

(Report Andreas Sittas, French edition Mathieu Protard)