TSAMTO, September 12. On September 11, the heads of the Estonian and Latvian Defense Ministries Hanno Pevkur and Inara Murniece signed an agreement in Germany on the purchase of IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defense systems worth almost 400 million euros.
This, as RIA Novosti reports, was reported by the press service of the State Center for Defense Investments at the Estonian Defense Ministry (RKIK).
"On September 11, the heads of the Estonian and Latvian Defense Ministries Hanno Pevkur and Inara Murniece signed an agreement in Germany on the purchase of IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defense systems manufactured by the German company Diehl Defense in the amount of almost 400 million euros. The ceremony was attended by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius," the message reads.
Earlier in the day, X.Pevkur and I. Murniece signed a document in Germany on the intention of Estonia and Latvia to join the European air defense system "European Sky Shield" (ESSI).
"This is a project of historical importance and unprecedented scale from the point of view of both the national defense of Estonia and the Estonian-Latvian defense cooperation," RKIK quotes the words of H.Pevkura.
As RIA Novosti reminds, the European Sky Shield initiative was launched by Germany in August 2022 and currently unites 19 countries, including NATO members Great Britain, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Estonia and Norway. In February 2023, Sweden, a candidate country for NATO membership, and Denmark also joined the project. In July, Switzerland and Austria joined the European air defense system European Sky Shield.
