Spanish army to deploy NASAMS air defense systems in Estonia from April

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In a tweet posted on February 14, the Estonian Ministry of Defense is thanking Spain for announcing it will deploy NASAMS air defense systems to Estonia for four months to strengthen NATO's eastern flank after the two countries struck a deal on Tuesday, February 14. Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur and Minister of Defense of Spain Margarita Robles made the agreement on the sidelines of the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels, ERR news reports.
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NASAMS launcher unit (Picture source: Army Recognition)

The weapon will fill a "critical gap" in the country's defense capabilities, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur said. Estonia is in the final stages of procuring its own air defense systems. "This is a short-term solution. However, we are already preparing a more sustainable solution. To that end, with Latvia and Lithuania, we made a proposal in NATO to establish an air defense rotation model, similar to the Baltic Air Policing mission currently in place. Therefore, hopefully, subsequent rotations in cooperation with Allies will also become possible," Pevkur said.

The minister said Estonian forces will learn the "tactical specifics" of the weapon and give them the experience of integrating medium-range air defense systems with other defense systems. The NASAMS combat-ready unit will be based at Ämari Air Base and will be deployed to Estonia on the command of the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). A similar unit was sent to Latvia in 2022.

NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System) is a medium to long-range air defense missile system designed and manufactured by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace teamed up with Raytheon for the missile. The system is renowned for its use of the Raytheon AMRAAM missile but is furthermore operational with command and control of a range of guns and short and medium-range missiles, such as e.g. Bofors L-70 guns, RBS 70, and Hawk. It has also proven integration with directed-energy weapons (DEWs) and longer-range systems, such as e.g. Patriot.

The NASAMS can be deployed to identify, engage and destroy aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, and for protecting high-value assets and mass population centers against air-to-surface threats.