Defense official: Baltics should build uniform and identical drone wall
A proposed drone wall should have identical physical and electronic defenses across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Ministry of Defense Undersecretary for Defense Industry and Innovation Siim Sukles said.
As things stand, discussions are underway about both a Baltic and a European "drone wall," the latter intended to stretch from Finland to the Black Sea.
"These things are being worked on. The work is ongoing. But we have to understand that this isn't like building a sauna, where in the summer we agree to build it and then just do it. This is very expensive," Sukles said, speaking to "Esimene stuudio."
In the case of the Baltic states, the drone defense system must be built in cooperation, to make it a uniform defense, he added.
"It won't work if everyone just comes up with something on their own — ultimately, it should be the case that all three Baltic countries have the same physical and electronic protection," Sukles continued.
The primary task right now is to secure the border, he noted; Estonia has also announced a tender for purchasing drones.
"Given the situation, it now seems that buying drones is highly needed. But what is even more important is to secure the border and create a multilayered air defense. Every industry wants to sell its own product, but for drones — I wouldn't refer to them as the future, they're simply one aspect of armaments, one weapon. Just as ammunition gets purchased, so too do drones get purchased. Plus the announcement has been made that a major drone procurement is currently underway," the official went on.
Estonian and Latvian defense companies are collaborating to counter drone threats along NATO's eastern flank with the "drone wall" cross-border system for detecting and defeating hostile drones, using tried and tested tech and experiences drawn from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The concept is being led by Defsecintel Solutions and the Defense Estonia Cluster, with Baltic partners, and a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Origin Robotics (Latvia) and Defsecintel Solutions (Estonia) – the latter company specializes in long-range detection and electronic warfare, with tech tested in Ukraine. Origin Robotics has developed an autonomous drone interceptor. The combined system will target loitering munitions, fixed-wing reconnaissance UAVs, and swarming drone tactics. The companies say the system is fully operational, combat-proven, and adaptable to evolving threats.
Pärnu defense industry park production expected to start at end of 2027
Sukles also addressed the two defense industry parks currently at building or planning stage; the first of these, at Ermitsu, Pärnu County, has reached the point where four companies to set up production there have been announced.
The first output is expected to roll off the production lines at the end of 2027, Sukles said.
Production will be getting a domestic customer in the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), Sukles noted, with an eye on exports too.
"We can develop our own defense industry, and this production is needed by the defense forces. Naturally, it must also go to export, because Estonia's capacity to buy for its own defense forces is not large enough to sustain factories," he went on.
While community groups have taken the Ermitsu defense industry park to court, Sukles was confident the state has conducted sufficient studies in the course of planning – the main issue at stake in the complaint, particularly with regard to environmental impacts.
"Some very good studies have been carried out for the defense industry parks. /---/ This slows things up a bit, but in my opinion the state has done a lot and done it correctly. /---/ It's part of the process that the court intervenes, but right now it seems we're moving forward."
The 204-hectare Pärnu County facility, west of Pärnu city and currently heavily forested land, will also include ammunition warehouses; with enough goodwill, two smaller manufacturers could still be accommodated there too, according to Sukles.
"And when we talk about a large factory producing, for example, 155-millimeter shells, that wouldn't fit there any more — that brings us to Põhja Kiviõli, where the final round of negotiations is ongoing," he added.
In addition to the Ermitsu site, the state State Defense Investment Center (RKIK) is setting up a smaller defense park at Ämari Air Base, which is to be joined by a planned defense industry park in Põhja-Kiviõli, Ida-Viru County.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Marko Tooming
Source: "Esimene stuudio", interviewer Andres Kuusk
