The US defence firm Raytheon has formed a team with two Scandinavian companies to lodge a bid for the contract to supply anti-aircraft missiles to the Estonian defence ministry. "Raytheon has joined with Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace, and Ericsson Microwave Systems to compete for the Estonian Very Short Range Air Defence Missile System, Raytheon said on its website.
Arizona-based Raytheon Missile Systems would serve as the prime contractor, providing the missiles and launchers and conducting the mission systems integration.
Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace of Norway would provide the command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems, while the Swedish Ericsson Microwave Systems would deliver tracking and surveillance radar systems.
"We have assembled a team of defence leaders to provide the Estonian Ministry of Defence with a competitive bid that delivers a decisive advantage," the Raytheon website quoted vice president Jim Riley as saying.
The Estonian government plans to name the winner of the tender by August.
When Estonia announced the tender last year it said the new missiles were needed because the country stood out among NATO member countries "for its weak air defence capability".
Estonia, which joined NATO in 2004, currently deploys Israeli missiles, the defence ministry said.
