A statement said Estonia wants to procure the South Korean K239 Chunmoo self-propelled multiple launch rocket system which is capable of firing several different guided or unguided artillery rockets. It has a range of 450 kilometers.

On Thursday, Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) and South Korean Minister of Defense Ahn Gyu-back signed a bilateral defense cooperation agreement. 

"It is important for Estonia to have the ability to influence the enemy deep within its territory. To this end, it is necessary to increase Estonia's deep-strike capability with additional rocket launchers," Pevkur said in a statement.

The Estonian Defense Forces started developing "deep strike" capabilities with the purchase of U.S. HIMARS systems, the first of which arrived this year. An agreement has already been struck with Washington to buy more in the coming years.

"To further strengthen its deep-strike capability, the Defense Forces have selected Chunmoo rocket launchers manufactured by a South Korean company. A similar solution based on US and South Korean rocket launchers is also used by Poland, for example," he added.

Poland's adapted version, known as the Homar-K, is capable of launching various types of rockets, including ballistic missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers, public broadcaster TVP World reported.

Pevkur told ERR that the Polish defense minister had assured him that the Poles are ready to offer training to Estonia and, if necessary, to bring their systems to the country.

"When all the details are agreed upon, both quantities and delivery times, then we will try to get a training program up and running with the Poles. We expect that within a two- to three-year timeframe, they will be present in Estonia. If negotiations go well, it might even be sooner, but by that time our own teams will have been trained. It's a fairly similar system to what we did with the HIMARS capability development," Pevkur said.

The U.S. sent HIMARS and a team – Task Force Voit – to Tapa to teach the Estonian Defense Forces how to operate the capabilities in 2022. It left last month to carry out a similar program in Lithuania.

The next step will be the signing of framework agreements.

"What is also crucial for me about this agreement is that a significant share of the transaction volume will go to the Estonian industry through the application of the principle of localisation. This means tens of millions of euros in direct investments in Estonia's defence industry," said Pevkur in the statement.

The details of the Chunmoo rocket launcher procurement will be further discussed at a technical level between the Estonian Center for Defense Investments, South Korea's export agency, and the manufacturer.

Estonia has already procured K9 self-propelled howitzers from South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace and will have 36 by the end of next year.

Estonia intends to spend over €10 billion between 2026–2029 to develop a multi-layered air defense system, enhance deep-strike capabilities, improve situational awareness and procure ammunition.

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