© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Guests check out the IRIS-T SLM, a German air defence system by Diehl, displayed on the ILA Berlin Air Present 2022 in Berlin, Germany June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
VILNIUS (Reuters) – European Union and NATO members Estonia and Latvia will start negotiations with Germany’s Diehl Defence for the acquisition of a medium-range air defence system, Estonia’s Defence Ministry stated on Sunday.
The price of the Iris-T SLM (NASDAQ:) air defence system and extra capabilities similar to infrastructure, personnel, coaching, tools, shall be decided on the negotiations, which might be concluded through the summer time, it added.
“Our goal is to make sure operational medium-range air defence capabilities for Estonia by 2025, which implies that the primary techniques ought to arrive in 2024,” Estonia’s Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur stated.
The acquisition shall be led by Estonia Centre for Defence Funding.
Final October, Estonia and Latvia had been amongst 14 European NATO companions to signal a letter of intent to collectively procure air defence techniques as Russia’s warfare in Ukraine highlighted shortages.