Estonia Takes Delivery Of HIMARS Rocket Artillery Systems
Estonia’s defence ministry announced January 22, that it had taken delivery of the six High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems it had ordered from Lockheed Martin for the Estonian Defence Forces.
According to the ministry, the six HIMARS launchers will arrive in Estonia “in the coming months”, with the systems to be operational by summer this year.
The United States’ State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments (EDCI), Estonia’s military procurement agency, signed an agreement at the end of 2022 for the purchase of the launchers following the DSCA’s approval of the sale in June that year.
“Developing such a strategic capability in cooperation with our closest ally, the United States, and achieving delivery within just two years is a clear example of mutual trust and excellent collaboration,” said Estonian Centre for Defence Investments Director General Magnus-Valdemar Saar at the handover ceremony for the HIMARS launchers at Lockheed Martin’s Camden, Arkansas production facility.
“Starting this summer, HIMARS will provide us with long-range precision strike capability, significantly enhancing our options for defending Estonia. Through outstanding cooperation with the U.S. HIMARS detachment stationed in Estonia, Unit ‘Victory,’ we have already prepared the personnel for our future rocket artillery battery to ensure the new weapons can be deployed as soon as possible. A major part of this achievement is due to the excellent preparatory work by our leadership team, who have thought outside the box and minimized the time required to bring the systems into service,” said Major Tanel Tatsi, Chief of Staff of the Artillery Battalion.
Ramil Lipp, strategic category manager for armaments at EDCI, told Estonian Public Broadcasting that the HIMARS launchers would actually arrive in spring, but would have to wait for its ammunition to be delivered in order to become operational. In an interview, Lipp said that the Estonian HIMARS will be equipped with both Guided Multiple Rocket Launch System (GMLRS) rockets and Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short range missiles, with the future possibility of acquiring the Precision Missile System (PrSM) being developed as an ATACMS replacement.