Military Space News
MISSILE DEFENSE
Estonia, Latvia acquire 1bn-euro German air defence system
Estonia, Latvia acquire 1bn-euro German air defence system
by AFP Staff Writers
Tallinn (AFP) Sept 11, 2023

Estonia and Latvia on Monday inked a joint deal worth around billion euros for an Iris-T SLM medium-range air defence system from German manufacturer Diehl, Tallinn said.

Berlin 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.

"This is by far the biggest defence investment in Estonian history. Together with Latvia, almost 1 billion for their company is something we don't see every day," Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur told reporters.

"Russia's barbaric war in Ukraine has shown that air defence is critical to protect armed forces and critical infrastructure from air attacks," he added in a statement.

The signing ceremony took place at the Diehl Defence Development Centre in Rothenbach near Nuremberg in southern Germany.

"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 defence," German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said in Rothenbach.

"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.

Led by Germany, 19 European nations including Britain, Belgium, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden have banded together on the ground-based air defence under the ESSI project.

The Sky Shield system would involve joint procurement for short-, medium- and long-range systems, including the German-made Iris-T, the American Patriot and the US-Israeli Arrow-3 missiles.

But France, Italy and Poland have not signed up to the project, with Paris arguing instead for an air defence system using European equipment.

burs-amj/giv

Related Links
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
MISSILE DEFENSE
SpaceX launches new batch of Space Defense Agency missile tracking satellites
Washington DC (UPI) Sep 2, 2023
SpaceX on Saturday successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Space Development Agency's newest batch of tiny missile defense satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch vehicle lifted off at 10:26 a.m. from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 4E before separating from the rest of the launch platform and landing back at Vandenberg about 7.5 minutes after liftoff. The mission was initially slated for Thursday but had to be pushed back due to an issue with ... read more

MISSILE DEFENSE
SpaceX launches new batch of Space Defense Agency missile tracking satellites

Ukraine receives new air defence systems from Berlin

Israel says US okays 'landmark' missile defence deal with Germany

Northrop Grumman begins producing NGI solid rocket motor booster cases

MISSILE DEFENSE
North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles

Two killed by falling debris after missile strike on Kyiv: authorities

Australia agrees to buy long-range missiles from US

Kim Jong Un inspects cruise missile test as South Korea-U.S. military drills begin

MISSILE DEFENSE
Kyiv fends off new wave of overnight drone attacks

Russia: Two Ukrainian drones shot down near Rostov-on-Don

One killed in Russian drone attacks on port district: Ukrainian governor

Ukraine air force says destroys 22 Russian drones in Odesa region

MISSILE DEFENSE
Space Force awards Viasat contract for Proliferated Low Earth Orbit Satellite Services

Solstar Space awarded Space Force contract for Deke Space Communicator

Hughes awarded Space Force IDIQ Contract for LEO satellite services

Lockheed Martin to supply 36 Small Satellites to advance SDA satcom network

MISSILE DEFENSE
General warns China seeking to 'exploit' US military knowledge

First Leopard 1 tanks arrive in Ukraine: Denmark

Ukraine's new defence minister asks for 'more heavy weapons'

U.S. commits another $600M weapons package to Ukraine

MISSILE DEFENSE
Poland to spend over 4% of GDP on defence in 2024

N. Korea to pay 'price' if it gives Russia arms: US

N. Korea's Kim set for arms talks with Putin in Russia: US

British defence giant BAE sets up base in Ukraine

MISSILE DEFENSE
Armenia holds drills with US troops amid rift with Russia

France and Germany 'squabble like old married couple', minister says

Russia holds elections in illegally occupied Ukrainian regions

Indonesia warns against new conflicts as US, China, Russia attend summit

MISSILE DEFENSE
World Nano Foundation highlights nanotech's role in space materials science

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.