Members of the Riigikogu sought to know whether the military advice from the chief of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), used as input for the National Defense Development Plan approved in 2023, included a proposal for acquiring additional ammunition.

Pevkur responded that during the update of the military defense chapter of the development plan presented to the government on June 8 last year, Herem's advice was also introduced. This advice was meant for a scenario where defense spending would exceed the 3 percent of GDP approved by the Riigikogu.

When asked how much ammunition Herem had requested, Pevkur stated that the need for additional ammunition, amounting to €1.6 billion, was highlighted in slides at that time based on daily operational standards (DOS) calculations.

"For clarity, it should be specified that the need for additional ammunition was presented as an extra requirement, similar to other capability developments not included within the 3 percent, such as a tank battalion, ISTAR, etc.," Pevkur said.

Pevkur added that this year, the Defense Forces have shifted to a target-based methodology. According to calculations presented by Herem on June 1, the need for additional ammunition has increased to €3.2 billion.

"Considering that NATO is also changing its ammunition accounting principles, it is reasonable to follow the new calculations by the chief of the Defense Forces until NATO's new calculations are established. According to these, Estonia should procure an additional €3.2 billion worth of ammunition based on the targets to be destroyed," Pevkur wrote.

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said mid-June this year that the government had not discussed finding additional funds for procuring munitions as Ministry of Defense Permanent Secretary Kusti Salm and Gen. Herem had not made official proposals to that effect. Pevkur said back then that he was given the necessary calculations for additional munitions procurements on June 1 this year.

According to the EDF commander's military advice, deep combat should utilize various munitions for the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers already in Estonia's arsenal, including ATACMS missiles with a range of 70 to 300 kilometers, anti-ship missiles, IRIS-T medium-range air defense, and Mini-Harpy loitering munitions.

Furthermore, the chief of the Defense Forces has provided the estimated quantities of ammunition needed to destroy a sufficient number of enemy targets from a distance, along with their costs. To destroy the first wave of a Russian attack, for instance, more than 800 ATACMS long-range missiles, nearly 500 smaller GMLRS rockets, over 25,000 artillery shells and over a thousand precision-guided munitions would be required.

The cost of such a quantity of ATACMS missiles alone would exceed €2 billion. The entire proposed package would cost €4 billion. However, since part of this is already owned or planned for purchase by Estonia, the additional funding required for ammunition procurement would be approximately €3.2 billion. Of this, €1.6 billion would be the critical amount needed.

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