Procuring ammunition is the focus of the Estonian defence budget

The State Budget Strategy approved by the government on Wednesday adds 1.6 billion euros for the purchase of long-range ammunition until 2031. In coming years, Estonia will invest up to a quarter of its defence budget in ammunition.

"I am grateful to the people of Estonia who have enabled us to use these resources for national defence, to strengthen our collective security - to make it safe to live here, raise a family and invest in business. Ammunition will be the main focus of the defence budget in the coming years. Of course, the Estonian Defence Forces are always ready to defend the Estonian people and the state without delay, but we still need more stocks of ammunition, among other things, to affect the adversary in its own territory," said Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.

"Given the current security situation, it is our responsibility to actively develop national defence and boost the capability of the Estonian Defence Forces," Pevkur added. "We have proven that we can do this - we already have contracts worth 1.9 billion euros for previously planned stocks of ammunition and we will organise more tenders to fill our ammunition stores as soon as possible."

Estonia will invest at least 3.3% of its GDP in military national defence every year between 2025 and 2028. In a comparison of NATO allies, Estonia currently ranks second behind Poland and ahead of the US. The total defence budget for the 2025-2028 period is 5.6 billion euros, to which the government has added 1.6 billion euros in the course of the budget strategy negotiations for the purchase of ammunition for long-range weapons systems until 2031.

"More than 50 per cent of the defence budget is spent on procurement aimed at directly enhancing our defence capabilities. Our goal is that every euro entrusted to us by the taxpayers strengthens Estonia's defence on land, in the air and at sea," said Defence Minister Pevkur.

• The first HIMARS multiple rocket launchers will be delivered to Estonia in 2025. The acquisition of this system provides Estonia with the capability of delivering devastating deep precision strikes in combat operations spanning up to 300 kilometres.
• A third self-propelled artillery battalion is being created in the division, for which Estonia is procuring 12 Caesar self-propelled howitzers from France. These will make Estonian artillery forces more mobile.
• The defence of Estonia's southeastern region will be strengthened as the 2^nd Infantry Brigade's mobile units are transferred from lorries to a new armoured vehicle type.
• The development of an unmanned aerial combat battery will continue with the delivery of loitering munitions in 2025. As for anti-tankdefence, Estonia is procuring battlefield-proven Javelin and Spike LR missiles.
• In 2025, Estonia will enhance its air defence shield with the German medium-range airdefence system Iris-T. Deliveries of Piorun man-portable air defence systems, manufactured in Poland, will also continue.
• The navy will continue to equip its coastal defence division and train the personnel in weapon systems, starting in 2024. Anti-ship missile systems and naval mines significantly increase the ability to counter threats from the sea.

In parallel with an independent defence capability, Estonia will also further develop NATO collective defence. To achieve this goal, we will both build additional infrastructure and put emphasis on refining defence plans with our allies. There are also plans to organise reservist training for up to 17,000 reservists next year. The equipment of the Defence League will be upgraded and the annual support provided to the Defence League will increase to over 66 million euros by 2028.

Besides strengthening our independent defence capabilities, we will also continue military aid to Ukraine with 0.25% of our GDP, and we will try to do this as much as possible using the Estonian defence industry output. In addition, we are preparing to establish a defence industrial park for the production of ammunition, military supplies, components and explosives.

The expenditure in the area of governance of the Ministry of Defence is being cut in solidarity with other areas. We have met our expenditure reduction target of saving about 24 million euros over four years, which we will channel into support for Ukraine.

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