EDF chief: Estonia needs capabilities to destroy enemy's weapons
Gen. Martin Herem, commander of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), questions the Financial Times' assessment that NATO air defenses are just 5 percent of what's needed on the eastern flank and points once more to the urgent need for more long-range artillery munitions.
"The situation is not good, while I don't know how they came up with 5 percent," Herem said on the "Terevisioon" morning show.
The general described the effectiveness of Ukraine's air defenses over two years of war, noting that half of the 20,000 missiles and long-range drones Russia has launched have been shot down.
"Of the around 6,000 cruise missiles, they've shot down roughly 7 percent," Herem said. "Mainly using Patriots, but even that system cannot intercept all missiles. /.../ The hit rate is 50 percent at best."
The outgoing EDF commander said that combating these missile systems requires destroying the platforms they're fired from in enemy territory, which capacity Estonia is working on developing.
"You can't just hide behind a shield all day. Instead, you need to find and destroy these platforms," Herem said.
He listed as systems suitable for the purpose Estonia's existing howitzers that have an effective range of 70 kilometers as well as soon-to-arrive loitering munitions with a range of 90 kilometers and HIMARS that can strike 300 kilometers away.
"But developing credible long-range fire capacity requires a considerable stockpile of munitions," the general added. "We should also develop machine gun-based air defenses, aerial surveillance. /.../ IRIS-T medium-range air defense systems should arrive in Estonia next year and in 2026."
"I would emphasize once again that we need more money, while our situation could be described as satisfactory compared to some other states. I have presented my calculations, and I will likely be offering additional explanation next week," Herem said.
The EDF chief has previously suggested that Estonia should spend an additional €1.5 billion on munitions.
Russia's war in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of air defenses as reflected in Kyiv's requests for more Western air defense systems and missiles so the country could protect its cities, troops and energy grid from daily aerial attacks by Russian forces.
The Financial Times wrote Monday that according to NATO sources and the organization's own internal calculations, allies in Europe only have about 5 percent of air defense required to effectively protect the eastern flank.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
Source: ETV
