The Estonian Defence Forces may receive 18 modern French Caesar-type self-propelled howitzers.
What is known about military procurement in Estonia
According to the Minister of Defense of Estonia, Hanno Pevkur, 155-mm wheel guns are essential to purchase weapons in the defence strengthening package.
It is planned to form a separate battalion of 18 guns under the direct command of the 1st Division.
Currently, the Estonian Defence Forces have at their disposal 24 tracked mobile artillery installations, as well as the K9 Kõu 155 mm cannon purchased from South Korea. According to the contract, 12 more units will be delivered from there in the coming years.
All ranged capabilities will be concentrated in the Division because the Division will define the battlefield anyway. We will purchase additional wheeled artillery to have a fast and flexible long-range capability. This direction, this brigade, where we need help [during the war] will receive this support. You won't be able to manoeuvre particularly well on the tracks.
Hanno Pevkur
Estonian MOD chief
Estonian MOD stated about the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine
According to Hanno Pevkur, the chief of Estonia's Ministry of Defence, NATO countries' military will not participate in military actions in Russia's criminal war against Ukraine, but they can participate in training missions.
Pevkur noted that each NATO member country currently has military personnel in Ukraine, consisting of attachés and persons on Ukrainian territory on a non-permanent basis.
The head of the Ministry of Defence of Estonia also commented on the latest statements of French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine.
Pevkur noted that Macron spoke about conducting training missions.
We train Ukrainian soldiers in Great Britain, 1,500 Ukrainians have already been trained in Estonia, and an even larger number in Poland. The question is: could we do the same in Ukraine to speed up the learning process, since every trip across the border takes a certain amount of time? But this does not mean that European soldiers will fight in the trenches in Ukraine, said the head of the military department of Estonia.
