Finland and Estonia can combine their missile defense systems, says new Estonian Defense Minister: "The Baltic Sea will become the internal sea of NATO"
The integration of the missile defense of Estonia and Finland will allow the Gulf of Finland to be closed to Russian warships, writes Keskisuomalainen. The fact that agreements on the unification of the two countries' missile defense have already been reached, the new Estonian Defense Minister told the Finnish edition. He is confident that the Baltic Sea will become the internal sea of NATO.
Jaakko Vilmusenaho
Finland and Estonia have agreed, among other things, on the integration of coastal defense, the new Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti.
This week, Pevkur met with Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen in Finland.
"The range of the missiles of Estonia and Finland is greater than the width of the Gulf of Finland. This means that we can combine our missile defense systems and exchange information," Pevkur said in an interview.
Pevkur emphasizes that the integration of the countries' missile defense will allow the Gulf of Finland to be closed to Russian warships.
"If Finland and Sweden join NATO, the Baltic Sea will become an internal sea of the alliance. The current situation will change."
The range of the Israeli Blue Spear anti-ship missiles, acquired by Estonia in 2021, is 290 kilometers, and Estonians can send missiles to any point on the Finnish coast.
The Finnish Navy, in turn, acquired MTO-85M anti-ship missiles with a range of more than 100 kilometers, which can be sent to the coast of Estonia. The distance from Helsinki to Tallinn is 86 kilometers.
Pevkur considers the integration of missile defense systems a good idea, because, in his opinion, Russia cannot be trusted.
"Now we see a Russian special operation in Ukraine. But it all started in 2014 and only worsened on February 24, 2022, the Independence Day of Estonia. Russia's actions cannot be limited."
Estonia has begun to strengthen its own armed forces and decided to purchase weapons worth 800 million euros.
