Estonia considering missiles, drones that can strike inside Russia

Estonia is looking to acquire weapons and gear to hit an invading force before it reaches the country’s borders, the head of its defense procurement office says.

“With our current investments and the additional investments into defense, we actually look to attain the ability to do deep strikes into enemy territory and… effective shaping operations,” Magnus-Valdemar Saar, director of the Centre for Defence Investment, told Defense One in an interview this week. 

Ukraine, after years of pleading with the White House for long-range ATACMS missiles, received in April is now pleading to be allowed to use them to hit targets deeper inside of Russia. ATACMS have a range of 300 kilometers.

“We have learned from this conflict [in Ukraine] that you need to be able to conduct your shaping operations really effectively, meaning that you need to carry the effects deep to enemies,” Saar said. “If we look at operational level from, you know, brigades, division, you cannot just have a close fight anymore” with anti-tank weapons and the like. “You need to carry the effects deeper. You need to start shaping”—that is, taking out enemy forces before they reach the front line. 

Saar didn’t say just what that could entail, only that “deep” was a matter somewhat of subjective opinion.

Estonia has already announced plans to create a loitering munitions unit, which Saar said will reach initial operating capability by the end of the year, flying drones with a range of about 100 kilometers, he said. 

The country has also announced a contract to purchase Vulcano 155 guided munitions from Diehl and have purchased six High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, launchers along with Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, or GMLRS, rockets. HIMARS can also fire ATACMS rockets.

Related to that, said Saar, they are also considering the purchase of new capabilities in Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. “It's just not about the effectors that can fly, maybe, I don't know, 300 kilometers, like the ATACMS missile but also, you know, if you're striking that far, you need to know where the target is. You need to be quite precise.”

Saar said Estonia must move more quickly than NATO to bolster its own national defense. 

“This discussion, the [NATO Defense Planning] process, is rather lengthy, and this discussion–who will provide what forces for the plans–is also ongoing, So it will take some time to have clarity on those issues,” he said. 

Saar described NDP discussions as “well-synched” but added that the presence of a defensive alliance doesn’t lessen the need for Estonia to move rapidly to acquire new weapons as well. 

The country may also boost spending on anti-air defenses, perhaps short-range man-portable missiles or longer-range interceptors, he said.

“As part of our next cycle for for defense planning, up to year 2035, we will at least consider…we will at least go through the exercise, of looking at having something even longer range than the IRIS-T,” a German air defense system from Diehl with a range of 40 kilometers, which Estonia already has. Such decisions would depend on affordability, he said.