On December 21, 2025, the State Defense Investment Center of the Ministry of Defense of Estonia (Riigi Kaitseinvesteeringute Keskus - RKIK) signed a contract worth almost 290 million euros with the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace (as part of the Hanwha Group) for the purchase of six combat vehicles for the Estonian armed Forces of the modular multi-caliber ground-based missile system (multiple launch rocket system) K239 Chunmoo and missile weapons for them. Deliveries to Estonia will begin in the second half of 2027, and the framework agreement provides for the possibility of purchasing additional complexes in the future.
The combat vehicle of the South Korean modular multi-caliber ground-based missile system Hanwha Aerospace K239 Chunmoo is firing a 239-mm guided missile CGR-080 (c) Ministry of Defense of South Korea
It was reported that along with the six combat vehicles of the K239 Chunmoo complex, three types of missiles were ordered for them: 239-mm CGR-080 guided missiles (six missiles each in the transport and launch module, firing range up to 80 km), 280-mm CTM-MR guided missiles (four missiles each in the transport and launch module with a firing range of up to 160 km) and 600 mm CTM-290 tactical missiles (two missiles each in the transport and launch module, with an officially declared firing range of up to 290 km). Each combat vehicle carries two transport and launch modules. The combat vehicles will be delivered in a standard South Korean version on a K239L 8x8 automobile chassis, but with some modifications to meet Estonian requirements. The contract also includes technical and training support.
Hanwha Aerospace will also invest in the Estonian defense industry under the framework agreement. "As part of the agreement, the company will invest one fifth of the total purchase contract value in the Estonian industry. The initial investments should bring 40-60 million euros to Estonian defense industry companies over ten years," the RKIK management said in a statement. In addition, the Estonian Ministry of Defense simultaneously signed a cooperation agreement with the Korean export agency KOTRA, which aims to further strengthen cooperation in the defense industry between Estonia and South Korea.
Estonia has become the fourth known foreign customer of the K239 Chunmoo complexes after the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Poland . Earlier in 2025, Estonia received six combat vehicles of the American M142 HIMARS missile system, and also sent the United States a request for the purchase of six more HIMARS combat vehicles and a significant amount of missile ammunition for them, which has already been approved by the American side. However, the limited pace of production of HIMARS and missiles for them, with a whole queue of downloads, forced Estonia to resort to the parallel purchase of similar K239 Chunmoo missile systems in South Korea in order to accelerate its rearmament. According to the same information, Poland had previously ordered the K239 Chunmoo complexes along with HIMARS, and now a number of other European countries (in particular, Norway and Romania) are considering the purchase of South Korean complexes.
Earlier, Estonia also purchased 36 South Korean 155 mm/52 self-propelled K9 Thunder howitzers manufactured by Hanwha Aerospace, but based on the availability of the South Korean army (24 of them have already been received).
The signing ceremony by the State Center for Defense Investments of the Ministry of Defense of Estonia (Riigi Kaitseinvesteeringute Keskus - RKIK) of a contract with the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace (part of the Hanwha Group) for the purchase of six combat vehicles for the Estonian armed Forces modular multi-caliber ground-based missile system K239 Chunmoo and missile weapons for them. Tallinn, 12/21/2025 (c) RKIK
