Estonia has returned to the plan to arm itself with additional M142 HIMARS-type rocket systems the country is to purchase at least six additional mobile launchers, but a deal for a larger number of these rocket systems is not ruled out.
This information was reported by Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, stating that the country has money for this purchase and that HIMARS rocket system deliveries are included in the list of plans for acquiring weapons for the Estonian military. His words are quoted by Breaking Defense.
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Among other details of the likely purchase are delivery timelines, because if everything goes according to plan, Estonia expects to receive a second batch of M142 HIMARS rocket systems in three to four years, from 2028 to 2029.
First, let's recall that Estonia in 2022 decided to arm itself with American HIMARS systems and in summer of the same year received a green light from the U.S. for delivery of six vehicles, which arrived in the country in spring of this year, as well as ATACMS, GMLRS and ER GMLRS missiles.
Ultimately, Estonia decided that six launchers is by no means a lot, and decided to purchase more rocket systems however, despite the fact that it would logically be to simply buy more HIMARS, at the beginning of this year Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur emphasized that they could also go to Lockheed Martin's competitors all because of the long HIMARS delivery times.
And recently in October it became known that the heads of defense departments of Estonia and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the potential purchase of South Korean K239 Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems, and one of the ways to understand this news was that Estonia supposedly still refused the idea of buying more HIMARS.
Pevkur quite clearly explains the decision to buy both HIMARS and Chunmoo at once because the country is looking for ways to maximally strengthen its arsenal of long-range strike assets, and among everything will not limit itself only to rocket systems, but also plans to buy long-range strike drones, cruise missiles, etc. "These are different types of systems. Which will give us more range, because we don't have strategic depth, the defense minister explains.
Defense Express previously reported that HIMARS will have to be waited for up to 5 years, but Hungary still returned to the idea of purchasing them.
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