After the Attack of Ukrainian Drones, Estonia Changed Its Mind About Spending Half a Billion Euros on Combat Vehicles 0 11

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur stated at a government press conference on Thursday that Estonia is learning lessons from the war in Ukraine every day, and these lessons, along with military recommendations from the Commander of the Defense Forces, led to the decision to suspend the program for purchasing new combat vehicles costing over 500 million euros.

According to Pevkur, under this program, infantry fighting vehicles were expected to begin arriving in Estonia in 2029–2030.

"We will extend the service life of the existing CV90 combat vehicles by at least ten years. This will require a significant amount of money, but it is certainly many times cheaper than their complete replacement," the defense minister said.

Pevkur noted that Estonia will now focus on increasing the firepower, mobility, and situational awareness of the Defense Forces, as well as on unmanned systems.

"We are monitoring the situation and keeping up with the times, taking into account the lessons we are learning from the war in Ukraine. Additional funding will definitely be allocated to the 'eyes and ears' of air defense to improve situational awareness; these areas will be significantly strengthened in the coming years," he said.

The need to enhance capabilities for detecting and repelling drone attacks has been vividly demonstrated by recent events, when drones appeared in Estonian airspace. On the night of March 31, one drone crashed in a field in the municipality of Kastree in Tartu County, while early in the morning on March 25, another crashed into a pipe at the Auvere power plant in Narva.