Estonia has signed a contract for the purchase of US HIMARS rocket launcher systems for $200 million, the Estonian Center for Defense Investments (ECDI) announced on Saturday (December 3rd).
ECDI chief executive Magnus-Valdemar Saar made the deal on Friday with the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), an agency of the US Department of Defense, to enhance "
indirect fire capability
" (i.e. i.e. on targets not visible to the battery operator) of the Estonian forces, according to a statement.
Estonia's largest ever arms purchase
This type of rocket launcher was offered by the United States to Ukraine, effectively strengthening its firing capacity against the Russian invasion launched on February 24.
Russia's neighbor Estonia has since increased its defense spending, as have its Baltic neighbors Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Poland.
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This is Estonia's largest arms purchase ever.
As part of this contract, the Estonian party will provide munitions as well as communication, training, logistics and life cycle solutions, said Ramil Lipp, head of the armament department at ECDI.
The rockets ordered by Tallinn - the exact number of which has not been specified - are of various types, their range ranging from 70 to 300 km.
They will be delivered from 2024. In November, Lithuania announced its intention to buy eight HIMARS for 495 million dollars.
