Estonia on Monday took delivery of its first German-made Iris-T medium-range air defence system at the Ämari air base south-west of Tallinn, the Estonian military and manufacturers Diehl Defence have announced.
"This is an important day for the Estonian Defence Forces and for the Estonian Air Force," Estonian Air Force commander Riivo Valge said.
"We are only beginning our journey in building up our air defence, and although it may take us months to give our operators the necessary training and bring this system to the field, we are still about to have a significant qualitative leap in air defence capabilities," he added.
Air defence is seen as a weak point in Estonia, which has agreed the purchase with neighbouring Latvia. The two Baltic republics regard their eastern neighbour Russia as a threat following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Tallinn government has sharply increased military expenditure and is re-equipping its armed forces.
Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said: "The war in Ukraine has shown clearly that strong air defence is a central component of the country's defence and is essential to protect our people, the units of our armed forces and critical infrastructure."
Two more Iris-T systems are to be delivered to Estonia next year. No details on their cost were released.
According to Diehl, the deal is "the largest defence investment in the country's history to date."
Diehl Defence chief executive Helmut Rauch said the delivery was characteristic of the company's growth strategy and showed "that we are able to deliver even under the significant pressure that the European air defence market is currently experiencing."
