„We are very thankful for the Spanish commitment to NATO’s deterrence and defence posture in Estonia with the deployment of the NASAMS unit and the Air Policing rotation in Ämari. We are glad to hear of the decision to continue the NASAMS unit deployment to Estonia, as it has already provided a valuable cooperation opportunity for the Estonian Defence forces,“ said Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur. The Minister of Defence of Spain Margarita Robles will visit the Spanish unit in Estonia next week.
“In September, together with Latvia, we will also be signing a contract for the procurement of our own medium-range air defence systems with the German manufacturer Diehl. Thanks to the presence of the Spanish unit in Estonia, our Defence Forces and Air Force have already had the chance to gain experience in the tactical command of medium-range air defence systems,” explained Estonian Minister of Defence Pevkur.
The Spanish NASAMS unit was deployed to Estonia in April this year on the command of the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), similarly to a unit in Latvia, as a part of NATO’s eastern flank air and missile defence. At the Vilnius Summit, the NATO heads of state also agreed on the new Rotational Model for air and missile defence, which similarly to the Air Policing mission will see the rotation of air defence systems at NATO’s eastern flank.
