Estonia and Latvia to acquire German air defense system in $1.1 billion deal

Europe, News September 12, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Estonia and Latvia finalized a joint deal with the German arms manufacturer Diehl, to acquire the IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defense system. The deal, estimated at $1.1 billion, was signed on September 11, 2023, in Nuremberg, Germany.

“This is by far the biggest defense investment in Estonian history. Together with Latvia, almost 1 billion for their company is something we do not see every day,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said as he signed the deal on behalf of his government.

Estonia’s Defense Minister Pevkur added that “Russia’s barbaric war in Ukraine has shown that air defense is critical to protect armed forces and critical infrastructure from air attacks.”

The signing ceremony took place at the Diehl Defense Development Centre in Rothenbach near Nuremberg in southern Germany. The deal was signed in the presence of company representatives and the defense ministers of Germany, Estonia, and Latvia.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said, “I’m very happy that our partners, Estonia and Latvia, have decided to procure the IRIS-T SLM. This will, without any doubt, strengthen European air defense.”

He added that the two Baltic countries also signed a letter of intent towards participating in Germany’s European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), launched last year in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Germany IRIS-T missile — *^{Mockup of IRIS-T missile at the ILA expo in Berlin in 2006 in front of a Eurofighter jet. (Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)}*

“The letter of intent signed today serves to pull the national IRIS-T SLM procurement efforts under the umbrella of our ESSI initiative. I really appreciate that,” he added alongside his Baltic counterparts.

The European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a German-led multinational program that aims for joint procurement of medium- and long-range air defense systems, including the German-made IRIS-T, the American Patriot, and the U.S.-Israeli Arrow-3 missiles. 19 European countries including Britain, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Sweden have banded together under the ESSI, however, France, Italy, and Poland have not signed up for the project yet.

IRIS-T air defense system

With a range of some 40 kilometers and 360-degree aerial attack detection capabilities, the IRIS-T air defense system was first introduced in 2014. According to Diehl, the system is most effective as part of a “layered air defense,” in combination, for example, with the U.S.-made Patriot PAC-3 missile defense system, which has a higher altitude air defense system.

As a medium-range air defense system, the IRIS-T has its weaknesses against more powerful arms. The air defense system is powerless against Russia’s celebrated Kinzhal hypersonic missiles as this threat requires a more powerful antidote, such as the U.S.-made Patriot system.

Germany IRIS-T missile defense system — *^{Ukraine received the IRIS-T air defense system from Germany. (Image Credit: Twitter/@DefenceU)}*

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, only a few Western nations had purchased the system, reflecting a common trend after the Cold War to scale down air defenses as the main threat from Russia was deemed to have gone. However, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the demand for air defense systems has seen a sharp increase.